Hello!!!!
During the past few months I have had fun writing a blog and making it so everyone can keep up with what I have been doing. I have decided that I want to continue on with this even after my study abroad experience. I have created a new blog that is seperate from this blog. I didn't think the link chelsea-is-abroad, worked for when I was just living a normal life in Arizona. So the new link is:
http://adaywithcts.blogspot.com/
This new blog will be a bit more random then my old blog and will be more of a casual blog. I don't expect to be doing skydiving, zorbing, scuba diving any time in the next year..however if I do my new blog is where you will find out about it! Of course when I have pictures to upload Picassa will still be my handy site to turn to!
So head to my new blog, and follow me! May I suggest you creating a blog as well? I would love to keep up on the life of everyone else as well!
I guess this is my final farewell to Aussie!
XoXO,
Chels
Saturday, July 11, 2009
Monday, June 29, 2009
Fiji!
So my weekend in paradise is over and now I am waiting in the Nadi (pronounced Nan-dee) airport for my eleven hour flight to Los Angeles. I remember back in February (which seems like a lifetime ago) being absolutely terrified of the flight I had to take to Australia. Now, after having already experienced that flight and also an overnight bus from Sydney to Gold Coast it is not the flight I am anxious about. Now I have learned that the worst part about flying is not the actual flight, it is the layovers, customs and security check points. I have already had a decent amount of things taken away from me, and I am a bit nervous that the sand and seashells I took home for mom will get taken away at customs. I hope not, but if they do there isn’t much I can do about it and at least I tried right?
On Thursday I was completely emotional and felt unready to go back to the states and this past weekend (in paradise) has helped me calm down a lot and I am getting more excited to head back to the states. I had a lot of time to relax this weekend and I think I needed that before I had to head back into my life back home. This weekend allowed me to get rid of my emotions from leaving Aussie, and also allowed me to get new exciting emotions to prepare me to go back home. I think if I had just went straight back home from Aussie my emotions would have been everywhere and I am unsure how I would have handled that. I am DEFINITLY looking forward to being home seeing my family and friends and getting back into “reality.” I have had a wonderful time since February and Australia will always have a special place in my heart, however it is time for leave my fantasy lifestyle and go into my everyday routine of things. For everyone who feared that I would not be coming home, no worries I am. If you would have asked me that on Thursday I am not to sure I would have been able to answer that will a 100% yes. Haha!
So now to talk about my weekend in Fiji! I already updated you on how my first night was and so I now I will cover my time in Fiji from Friday until today (Monday).
On Friday I had to wake up really early due to mistake of booking a room at a resort two hours away from where I was boarding the boat to go to my next resort. The drive was nice to see in the daytime and it allowed me to see parts of Fiji that were not centered around tourists. The houses were extremely small and most of them were very worn down. I wish I would have been able to take pictures but at the time my camera was in the trunk and I could not access it. On top of the worn down houses (and schools that were built for them by the United States of America) you could see how the people were struggling when you passed a bus stop made out of bamboo sticks. Also, in a field at both ends the field goals had been set up using bamboo sticks as well. I am happy I got to experience this drive as the rest of my weekend was at a resort which had definitely been made nice to attract tourists. I now understand why traveling can change a persons perspective on life. You get to experience things from people who are less fortunate, to those who are extremely fortunate. I have a learned a lot just by traveling that is for sure.
After my drive back to Nadi I hopped on the boat ride to go to Octopus Resort. The boat ride was an hour and a half and to make the time go by faster I started to talking to other people around me (the boat only fits about 10-12 people). The first couple I talked to was an older couple and within the first few minutes I found out that they were from Arizona!!! Now this was really exciting because in the months I have been gone, I have not met one single person who is from Arizona! It was nice to talk to them about my time away and also catch up with how the weather has been acting up back home.
After talking to them for a while I then start talking to another girl named Ashley who is traveling by herself. She had been traveling with a friend throughout Australia but they each went separate ways a few days prior. She was only nineteen years old and was an English student traveling between her gap year. She was extremely nice and we would continue to hang out throughout the weekend.
After yapping away we finally arrive at Waya Island. The first thing I notice is how blue the water is and how many trees there are on the island. We are then welcomed by some of the staff at the resort with a traditional welcome song. As soon as I step off of the boat Sam calls out my name and I notice that she is snorkeling. It made it extremely easy to find her when I got there. I then sat through a welcoming and got assigned a bed number for the dorm.
After walking to my room and saying “Vanaka” (which means thank you) to the worker who carried my bags to the room, I then headed down to the beach to meet Sam. We hung out at the beach and then went in to eat lunch since it was happening almost immediately after I arrived. The area we ate was really cool and the floor was filled with sand so you could feel the sand between your toes even while you ate.
That night we went down to watch the sunset (which was gorgeous) and had drinks out of coconuts! I am not sure how much alcohol they put into it shot wise, but when I counted it was nine seconds worth of pouring different alcohol into my coconut! However the coconuts were huge and so the rest of it was filled up with some sort of juice and you could not really taste the alcohol all that much.
When I went to bed I realized that we each had a personal mosquito net, fan and light by our bed. I liked this because it made it so that I could chose to have the fan on or not (and of course knowing me I had it on the entire night).
The next morning I woke up and enjoyed the breakfast the had put out for us. The weather was not the greatest and it started to rain and so I started to read On the Jellicoe Road a book I had picked up for a friend in Australia. I ended up reading the entire book in two days because I had so much down time. After the rain it cleared up and we were left with a gorgeous day. I hung out by the beach and read for the majority of the day.
At night after dinner they resort had game night and me being very competitive was one of the first to join in on the fun. The first game was a harmless (but somewhat painful) game of Limbo. I did not win but I did make it a decent way into the game. After Limbo we played a drinking game with the same groups. Each person had to run to a cup of beer that was about thirty steps away, drink it as fast as possible, place the cup upside down on their head to prove the cup was empty, spin around the cup two times and then run back to their team. I am very competitive; however drinking beer is not something I am very good at. I attempted to drink the cup of beer as fast as possible and ended up with half a cup of beer down my shirt… the only good thing about that was the when I turned the cup upside down to place on my head there was none to get into my hair. My team loss this game, but just barely.
Really wanting to at least one game, I signed up for the next game as well not knowing what it was. Little did I know that for the next couple of minutes everyone in my group would basically lose any pride and dignity they had, while playing a game called “Poop the Potato”. Each person had to hold a potatoe between their legs run to a bucket without dropping it, and then “poop” the potato into the bucket. If you missed the bucket, or dropped the potato you had to go back and try again. Once again, my team just barely lost. This makes it three games in a row I lost…which I am very sad about. Sad in the Chelsea “I wanna win” type of sad.
The last game (if you can call it a game) is catch the cork. Basically the person who caught the cork off the champagne got the bottle of champagne. Well...make it four losses for me! The same group won all four games and ended up with four bottles of champagne while we each had beer down our shirts and had just pooped a potato. All well, it was fun even if I didn’t win. Plus, I am not a fan of champagne so I didn’t mind giving it to someone who was.
The next day was the last full day in Fiji. After breakfast we went snorkeling. The water was so blue and the clarity was absolutely perfect. I saw so many different type of fish and at one point I was right next to a school of about thirty bright yellow fish swimming around me. I wish I would have had a underwater camera because the fish were so bright and the water was so blue. I also saw a fish without a tail and every time it tried to swim the water would push the back part of its body and it kept having to swim sideways. I also saw a transparent fish swimming around as well. There were so many unique fish and it is really awesome to be able to swim around with them.
For the rest of the day we just hung around and at night there was a movie playing out by the pool. They set up a giant screen for us all to watch Revolutionary Road, which I had seen about a week earlier. Since it was still early I watched the movie, however for a majority of the time I was just looking up at the stars and the milky way.
The next morning we had to wake up and get all of our stuff together to pack and leave our wonderful Waya Island and to head back to Nandi. We hung out until two just walking down the beach and then had an hour and a half boat ride back to the mainland.
When we got to Nandi we got dropped off at Raffles hotel to hang out for a few hours (it was four, our flight leaves at ten) and all we really did was hang out, take a shower, and change into our clothes we would be wearing on the flight home.
It is now about thirty minutes before I am going to get on my flight home and I am getting pretty excited to go back to the states. This was a perfect end, to an AMAZING semester! One I will never forget that is for sure…and that scary part? I am officially a SENIOR in college!!
Well I am going to turn off my laptop, make a lap around the airport before I have to start my 11 hour sitting session! My next entrée, I will be back in the States!
Love you all!
XoXo,
Chels
On Thursday I was completely emotional and felt unready to go back to the states and this past weekend (in paradise) has helped me calm down a lot and I am getting more excited to head back to the states. I had a lot of time to relax this weekend and I think I needed that before I had to head back into my life back home. This weekend allowed me to get rid of my emotions from leaving Aussie, and also allowed me to get new exciting emotions to prepare me to go back home. I think if I had just went straight back home from Aussie my emotions would have been everywhere and I am unsure how I would have handled that. I am DEFINITLY looking forward to being home seeing my family and friends and getting back into “reality.” I have had a wonderful time since February and Australia will always have a special place in my heart, however it is time for leave my fantasy lifestyle and go into my everyday routine of things. For everyone who feared that I would not be coming home, no worries I am. If you would have asked me that on Thursday I am not to sure I would have been able to answer that will a 100% yes. Haha!
So now to talk about my weekend in Fiji! I already updated you on how my first night was and so I now I will cover my time in Fiji from Friday until today (Monday).
On Friday I had to wake up really early due to mistake of booking a room at a resort two hours away from where I was boarding the boat to go to my next resort. The drive was nice to see in the daytime and it allowed me to see parts of Fiji that were not centered around tourists. The houses were extremely small and most of them were very worn down. I wish I would have been able to take pictures but at the time my camera was in the trunk and I could not access it. On top of the worn down houses (and schools that were built for them by the United States of America) you could see how the people were struggling when you passed a bus stop made out of bamboo sticks. Also, in a field at both ends the field goals had been set up using bamboo sticks as well. I am happy I got to experience this drive as the rest of my weekend was at a resort which had definitely been made nice to attract tourists. I now understand why traveling can change a persons perspective on life. You get to experience things from people who are less fortunate, to those who are extremely fortunate. I have a learned a lot just by traveling that is for sure.
After my drive back to Nadi I hopped on the boat ride to go to Octopus Resort. The boat ride was an hour and a half and to make the time go by faster I started to talking to other people around me (the boat only fits about 10-12 people). The first couple I talked to was an older couple and within the first few minutes I found out that they were from Arizona!!! Now this was really exciting because in the months I have been gone, I have not met one single person who is from Arizona! It was nice to talk to them about my time away and also catch up with how the weather has been acting up back home.
After talking to them for a while I then start talking to another girl named Ashley who is traveling by herself. She had been traveling with a friend throughout Australia but they each went separate ways a few days prior. She was only nineteen years old and was an English student traveling between her gap year. She was extremely nice and we would continue to hang out throughout the weekend.
After yapping away we finally arrive at Waya Island. The first thing I notice is how blue the water is and how many trees there are on the island. We are then welcomed by some of the staff at the resort with a traditional welcome song. As soon as I step off of the boat Sam calls out my name and I notice that she is snorkeling. It made it extremely easy to find her when I got there. I then sat through a welcoming and got assigned a bed number for the dorm.
After walking to my room and saying “Vanaka” (which means thank you) to the worker who carried my bags to the room, I then headed down to the beach to meet Sam. We hung out at the beach and then went in to eat lunch since it was happening almost immediately after I arrived. The area we ate was really cool and the floor was filled with sand so you could feel the sand between your toes even while you ate.
That night we went down to watch the sunset (which was gorgeous) and had drinks out of coconuts! I am not sure how much alcohol they put into it shot wise, but when I counted it was nine seconds worth of pouring different alcohol into my coconut! However the coconuts were huge and so the rest of it was filled up with some sort of juice and you could not really taste the alcohol all that much.
When I went to bed I realized that we each had a personal mosquito net, fan and light by our bed. I liked this because it made it so that I could chose to have the fan on or not (and of course knowing me I had it on the entire night).
The next morning I woke up and enjoyed the breakfast the had put out for us. The weather was not the greatest and it started to rain and so I started to read On the Jellicoe Road a book I had picked up for a friend in Australia. I ended up reading the entire book in two days because I had so much down time. After the rain it cleared up and we were left with a gorgeous day. I hung out by the beach and read for the majority of the day.
At night after dinner they resort had game night and me being very competitive was one of the first to join in on the fun. The first game was a harmless (but somewhat painful) game of Limbo. I did not win but I did make it a decent way into the game. After Limbo we played a drinking game with the same groups. Each person had to run to a cup of beer that was about thirty steps away, drink it as fast as possible, place the cup upside down on their head to prove the cup was empty, spin around the cup two times and then run back to their team. I am very competitive; however drinking beer is not something I am very good at. I attempted to drink the cup of beer as fast as possible and ended up with half a cup of beer down my shirt… the only good thing about that was the when I turned the cup upside down to place on my head there was none to get into my hair. My team loss this game, but just barely.
Really wanting to at least one game, I signed up for the next game as well not knowing what it was. Little did I know that for the next couple of minutes everyone in my group would basically lose any pride and dignity they had, while playing a game called “Poop the Potato”. Each person had to hold a potatoe between their legs run to a bucket without dropping it, and then “poop” the potato into the bucket. If you missed the bucket, or dropped the potato you had to go back and try again. Once again, my team just barely lost. This makes it three games in a row I lost…which I am very sad about. Sad in the Chelsea “I wanna win” type of sad.
The last game (if you can call it a game) is catch the cork. Basically the person who caught the cork off the champagne got the bottle of champagne. Well...make it four losses for me! The same group won all four games and ended up with four bottles of champagne while we each had beer down our shirts and had just pooped a potato. All well, it was fun even if I didn’t win. Plus, I am not a fan of champagne so I didn’t mind giving it to someone who was.
The next day was the last full day in Fiji. After breakfast we went snorkeling. The water was so blue and the clarity was absolutely perfect. I saw so many different type of fish and at one point I was right next to a school of about thirty bright yellow fish swimming around me. I wish I would have had a underwater camera because the fish were so bright and the water was so blue. I also saw a fish without a tail and every time it tried to swim the water would push the back part of its body and it kept having to swim sideways. I also saw a transparent fish swimming around as well. There were so many unique fish and it is really awesome to be able to swim around with them.
For the rest of the day we just hung around and at night there was a movie playing out by the pool. They set up a giant screen for us all to watch Revolutionary Road, which I had seen about a week earlier. Since it was still early I watched the movie, however for a majority of the time I was just looking up at the stars and the milky way.
The next morning we had to wake up and get all of our stuff together to pack and leave our wonderful Waya Island and to head back to Nandi. We hung out until two just walking down the beach and then had an hour and a half boat ride back to the mainland.
When we got to Nandi we got dropped off at Raffles hotel to hang out for a few hours (it was four, our flight leaves at ten) and all we really did was hang out, take a shower, and change into our clothes we would be wearing on the flight home.
It is now about thirty minutes before I am going to get on my flight home and I am getting pretty excited to go back to the states. This was a perfect end, to an AMAZING semester! One I will never forget that is for sure…and that scary part? I am officially a SENIOR in college!!
Well I am going to turn off my laptop, make a lap around the airport before I have to start my 11 hour sitting session! My next entrée, I will be back in the States!
Love you all!
XoXo,
Chels
HOME!
Well…it wasn’t easy but I survived the flight and now I am home! My knees are absolutely killing me and I have never wanted to stand so much in my life! I am in LAX right now waiting for my next flight to phoenix…however an hour flight seems like nothing to me now! “Long Trips” have a completely different meaning to me then what they did six months ago!
I just wanted to let everyone know that there are three entrees before this one talking about leaving Aussie and visiting Fiji. The last of my pictures are uploading to Picasa currently!
Love you all & I’m glad to be home! I am considering continuing to write in my blog to keep everyone updated on what I am up to during the school year. However, the address may be changed considering, I am no longer abroad!
Chels
I just wanted to let everyone know that there are three entrees before this one talking about leaving Aussie and visiting Fiji. The last of my pictures are uploading to Picasa currently!
Love you all & I’m glad to be home! I am considering continuing to write in my blog to keep everyone updated on what I am up to during the school year. However, the address may be changed considering, I am no longer abroad!
Chels
Thursday, June 25, 2009
First night in Fiji!
First night in Fiji!
BULLA!!!!!! I am in Fiji! Bulla means “hello” here and they say it sooo much! Everyone you pass says hello to you, it has a very friendly atmosphere. Also, when you arrive at the airport there is a live band playing tropical music and they put a necklace made of sea shells around your neck and introduce you to the term “Bulla” I can’t say it is gorgeous yet because I have spent the last five hours in the airport waiting to get to my resort so I haven’t really seen anything. It took me so long to get to my resort because I did not book a transfer ahead of time because every other trip I have been on I have been able to book a transfer to where I am staying really easily. Well turns out I got a hotel that is 110 KM away from the airport. I read it as 10 on accident when I paid for my room a couple weeks ago. To get a cab here would have been $200 which I was not about to pay. After finding that out a very nice worker told me he found a coach for me that would be going to the place I am staying for only $35. He said I missed the 5:55 barely and would have to wait for the 6:55 coach. I say ok and then go sit down and finish a couple Sodoku puzzles. Then at 7:00 he comes back and tells me the coach is back and I can put my luggage in the trailer. I was thinking we were leaving at 6:55; nope that is when he got back from his other trip. So I had to wait until everyone got off of their flight and got onto the coach, we left at 7:40.
It then took an hour and a half to get to the first resort where he was dropping everyone off and another hour on top of that to get to my place. Ouewrgoiuhgoerihgirhgerhigdr. I booked a nice hotel tonight because I wanted to not be by myself in a creepy area and I was really excited about spending my time in a hotel for once. Since starting again tomorrow I start up the sharing a room thing. Getting here at 10:35 PM (and having to leave at 7:30 AM tomorrow...) really makes it pointless to have even stayed here.
However, it is a really nice place!!! I have a HUUUGGE bed and a big bathroom all to myself as well. There are also pink flowers on my towels, and the towels are arranged really pretty. Get this, upon check in I got complementary water…and it was Fiji Water! I am drinking Fiji water, in Fiji! I love it!
Then in the fridge you get a huge complimentary platter of fresh fruits for you to eat. This is good, because I haven’t eaten today at all and I do not think there is a place for me to go eat dinner at tonight. I am literally twenty feet from the ocean (I can hear it in my room) however it is dark out, and so going near the beach kind of freaks me out lol. The stars are absolutely amazing though. I attempted to take a picture of them so you could see, however all that came out was a completely black picture!
I want to go look around and see what is around but I am a woos and am scared to walk alone since I am walking outside and it is kind of dark. There is a lighted path to the rooms, but still…I am just holding myself hostage in my room for the night. There isn’t anything to do in my room, I do not have a TV and do not have internet access.
I suppose that is good anyways since I have to be up at 6:45 in the morning to get breakfast and then check out of my hotel. I am considering waking up to see the sunrise over the water however I am not even sure if the sun rises, or sets over the water. Since I do not have internet access I can not look it up either. It is 11:00 PM Fiji time, but only 9:00 PM Gold Coast time and so I am not ready for bed but I am going to try to force myself to go to bed early.
I will write more soon! Tomorrow I meet up with Sam at the place where I will be staying for the rest of my time in Fiji. Night!
Love you!
P.S. I just realized I have no clue how I am going to brush my teeth tonight! :/
BULLA!!!!!! I am in Fiji! Bulla means “hello” here and they say it sooo much! Everyone you pass says hello to you, it has a very friendly atmosphere. Also, when you arrive at the airport there is a live band playing tropical music and they put a necklace made of sea shells around your neck and introduce you to the term “Bulla” I can’t say it is gorgeous yet because I have spent the last five hours in the airport waiting to get to my resort so I haven’t really seen anything. It took me so long to get to my resort because I did not book a transfer ahead of time because every other trip I have been on I have been able to book a transfer to where I am staying really easily. Well turns out I got a hotel that is 110 KM away from the airport. I read it as 10 on accident when I paid for my room a couple weeks ago. To get a cab here would have been $200 which I was not about to pay. After finding that out a very nice worker told me he found a coach for me that would be going to the place I am staying for only $35. He said I missed the 5:55 barely and would have to wait for the 6:55 coach. I say ok and then go sit down and finish a couple Sodoku puzzles. Then at 7:00 he comes back and tells me the coach is back and I can put my luggage in the trailer. I was thinking we were leaving at 6:55; nope that is when he got back from his other trip. So I had to wait until everyone got off of their flight and got onto the coach, we left at 7:40.
It then took an hour and a half to get to the first resort where he was dropping everyone off and another hour on top of that to get to my place. Ouewrgoiuhgoerihgirhgerhigdr. I booked a nice hotel tonight because I wanted to not be by myself in a creepy area and I was really excited about spending my time in a hotel for once. Since starting again tomorrow I start up the sharing a room thing. Getting here at 10:35 PM (and having to leave at 7:30 AM tomorrow...) really makes it pointless to have even stayed here.
However, it is a really nice place!!! I have a HUUUGGE bed and a big bathroom all to myself as well. There are also pink flowers on my towels, and the towels are arranged really pretty. Get this, upon check in I got complementary water…and it was Fiji Water! I am drinking Fiji water, in Fiji! I love it!
Then in the fridge you get a huge complimentary platter of fresh fruits for you to eat. This is good, because I haven’t eaten today at all and I do not think there is a place for me to go eat dinner at tonight. I am literally twenty feet from the ocean (I can hear it in my room) however it is dark out, and so going near the beach kind of freaks me out lol. The stars are absolutely amazing though. I attempted to take a picture of them so you could see, however all that came out was a completely black picture!
I want to go look around and see what is around but I am a woos and am scared to walk alone since I am walking outside and it is kind of dark. There is a lighted path to the rooms, but still…I am just holding myself hostage in my room for the night. There isn’t anything to do in my room, I do not have a TV and do not have internet access.
I suppose that is good anyways since I have to be up at 6:45 in the morning to get breakfast and then check out of my hotel. I am considering waking up to see the sunrise over the water however I am not even sure if the sun rises, or sets over the water. Since I do not have internet access I can not look it up either. It is 11:00 PM Fiji time, but only 9:00 PM Gold Coast time and so I am not ready for bed but I am going to try to force myself to go to bed early.
I will write more soon! Tomorrow I meet up with Sam at the place where I will be staying for the rest of my time in Fiji. Night!
Love you!
P.S. I just realized I have no clue how I am going to brush my teeth tonight! :/
Goodbye Aussie, I will miss you!
Goodbye Aussie, I will miss you!
**WARNING** When I typed this I typed in ni Microsoft word and single spaced it was four pages long. Prepare for a LONG entry!
Who knew exactly how fast the past 130 days would go! I thought when I signed up for study abroad that these months would drag on and it would feel like I had been here forever, however it feels like I just got here and I have no clue where this past month went, it FLEW by! I thought that by the time came to come home I would be more then ready and willing to leave…however I don’t think I was fully ready to leave.. I love the parrots that fly around here, I love the scenery and even more I love the people I have met along the way. There are of course things I will not miss such as the bipolar weather and humidity but every great thing has to have a few down sides right?
Well I suppose I should update you on how my final day in Aussie went yesterday! I actually missed the bus to school on Wednesday which was really really REALLY bad because I had a final. Beth and I decided we had a fool proof plan to avoid either one of us missing the bus because we had the same final to go to. We were going to get on skype as soon as we woke up and if one of us hadn’t heard from the other by 7:15 we were going to call them. Well….that fool proof plan doesn’t work to well if you both sleep past your alarm haha. We woke up and got dressed in literally a minute and waited for the Metro Bus to come back and then begged Michael to do another trip to campus so we didn’t miss our 8:30 final. Thankfully he did! I knew I was asking for trouble when I went to bed at three the night before a final!
After the final I went to Movie World with Carolyn and Beth for one last time and went on the rollercoaster’s like two times each ride! We were hoping the park would be empty since it was a Wednesday and man were we wrong. On the first rollercoaster we went to we had to wait about 30 to 45 minutes just to get on it. However, it was so worth it. I love rollercoaster’s!!!! The first time we went to Movie World I had to convince Beth to ride the Superman rollercoaster, this time around she was sitting in the front row! If you go home and people want to know what you have improved or learned about yourself, tell them how brave you have become haha.
We were at the park until close and then had to catch a bus back to our apartments and got back around seven. The original plan was to have me pack and then we would go out but instead we went out first, and saved packing for later. In true Chelsea form!
We went out to the State of the Origin (look Beth I said it right!) and just had two drinks while watching the game before we headed home. It was a good game, Queensland won, which is where I live… (or I suppose I should save lived now) and so that is who I am going to cheer for! We won and that means we won the series… which I believe is what they call it. This was the fourth year in a row that Queensland beat New South Wales! The games are actually really fun to watch but for different reasons then you would think. I don’t honestly care about who wins, but watching how violent they get and some of the moves they use is quite hilarious to me. I should have watched more games while I was in Aussie.
After the game I went home and started packing (yes I had one suitcase packed on Sunday but basically had my entire room left to pack in the other suitcase). I finished packing at around midnight and was debating if I should stay up until six so I didn’t miss my shuttle to the airport or if I should get some sleep and hope not to oversleep. Once I finished packing I went over to Beth’s and we hung out while she packed up her Aussie life. I didn’t want to leave to go to bed because I knew it was the last time we were going to hang out.
However, at around 3 in the morning I decided I would get three hours of sleep and would just hope I didn’t miss my shuttle. I had to sleep without my stuffed animals since they were packed and had given my pillows away to Carolyn who is staying there for a year. Not having the best sleeping conditions I thought I wouldn’t be able to sleep however I got knocked right out. I am assuming I was so tired because the night before I had gotten about three or four hours of sleep as well.
This morning Beth and Carolyn woke up at six to see me and so we could all say our goodbyes. It didn’t feel like I was really saying goodbye to them for real (real deal) it just felt like I was going to go away for the weekend and come back on Monday back to our normal routine. I really didn’t want to leave this morning but I had to go out front and wait for the shuttle so I didn’t miss it.
Once I got on the shuttle and we started driving away from Metro it hit me. I realized I wouldn’t see Metro, or Aldi, or ride the bus on Whiting and Brown St. anymore. It hit me that I am leaving and will most likely not come back for a long while. I really have come to feel like Australia is my home and I am going to miss it.
Once I let my brain start getting into thinking about how I don’t know when I will get back to Australia, and I don’t know when I will see any of the friends I made here my eyes started to water up. I felt like I would be fine if I listened to music and so I put my Ipod in and started listening to Celine Dion… which didn’t help lol. For whatever reason as soon as I started listening to Celine Dion I started to cry..not like sobbing but still crying. So I grabbed the biggest pair of sunnies I have out of my backpack and went back to staring out the window.
Somewhere along the line I calmed down and passed out on the bus. These people on the shuttle must have thought I was insane because I was crying at first, and then I went to bed and woke myself up from snoring hahaha! On the bright side when I woke up we were at the airport! It made the hour and a half ride go by super quick.
I got to the aiport thirty minutes before I was able to check in and so I just sat down and waiting for check in to open. I would have walked around but my big suitcase has a broken handle and so it is really hard to walk around with. That is one thing I will not miss about Australia is all the flight drama!
Once check in opened I was hoping and praying that I would not have to pay for overweight luggage. My first bag came to 24.1 Kilos and my second bag came to 17.9 Kilos. 1 Kilo = 2.2 Pounds if that makes it easier. (First bag was 53.02 pounds and second bag was 39.38 pounds). I asked her how close I was to having to pay and she said if my bag would have been 25 Kilos I would have had to pay for it. At that point I just kept thinking “ I AM SO LUCKY, I AM SO LUCKY, I AM SO LUCKY WWOOOOO HHHOOOOO!!!!!!!” I really did not want to pay for the extra luggage lol.
So after I checked in my bags I wandered around for a bit and then went down to customs and security. I completely forget I had things in the side of my backpack and ended up having to throw out a brand new tube of tooth paste, water (which I bought upstairs because it had a screw top so I figured it would be fine) and the last thing stung a bit when he took it away. The last item he took from me was my beloved tanning oil that smells SSSSOOOOO good and I was unbelievably excited to use it in Fiji so I would come home with a great tan. Whelp, I guess that is not happening anymore haha.
I told the guy I was unaware it was in there and tried to talk my way out of it but didn’t work. I guess I can’t talked my way out of everything, who would have thought haha. I am even more bummed because now it is just going to go to waste. Kat and Carolyn loved the smell of that stuff and I would have easily given it to them if I would have known. I hope the security guard at least realizes how amazing that stuff is and snatches it, goes home, strips naked and tans in his back yard with it. That way it is at least getting used and not getting tossed in to a rubbish bin! I just realized something that made me laugh a bit. I am more concerned I lost something that would get me tan, then losing something that cleans my teeth every morning…hahahhaha! I have my priorities right I see! Another bummer is Guy asked me if I had any tooth paste I could give him because he was out and I said no because I was taking it with me, sorry Guy! (BTW before I make Guy sound like a total bum he asked it because I gave him, Kat and Carolyn all the things I would not be bringing home with me...all my little hygienic stuff, school supplies, bathroom stuff, etc.)
Right now I am sitting on the plane flying over the ocean to Fiji and writing all of this. It is the first time I have really used my laptop on a airplane and it makes me feel so business like, even though I am just writing a blog. I feel like I am writing some long business proposal or something. If anyone asks I will tell them that is what I am doing just to make me look sophisticated haha. I would say just kidding to that last sentence…but I really don’t think I was haha!
We are flying on Air Pacific which is operated by Qauntas. I must say I would rather be on Qaunta’s then this flight. I like Quanta’s because each person gets a personalized television screen to entertain themselves and there is just a little bit more room around you. I am also flying Air Pacific on the way back and am hoping since it is a twelve hour flight that they would give us the upgraded version instead of a run down one. We will see!
Well… I guess the time has come to write my last blog entry about Australia. I can’t believe I won’t be travelling anymore and I am no longer going to be surrounded by someone who I truly consider one of my best friends now. I will of course keep in contact because I am pretty good at maintaining friend ships, I just can’t wait until we can go visit each other…hopefully it comes sooner rather then later.
I have definitely learned a lot about myself from this experience and could not express how happy I am that I decided to spend a semester abroad. I will miss the friends I have made since being here, but at the same time I am extremely excited to see my family and friends back home!
In the next couple days I will try to update you all on my Fiji experience, and then I will be home! I can’t believe It is Thursday and Monday I will be home… Still feels like I am returning back to Gold Coast after this weekend.
Alright I love you, miss you & will SEE you all soon!
Love,
Chels
**WARNING** When I typed this I typed in ni Microsoft word and single spaced it was four pages long. Prepare for a LONG entry!
Who knew exactly how fast the past 130 days would go! I thought when I signed up for study abroad that these months would drag on and it would feel like I had been here forever, however it feels like I just got here and I have no clue where this past month went, it FLEW by! I thought that by the time came to come home I would be more then ready and willing to leave…however I don’t think I was fully ready to leave.. I love the parrots that fly around here, I love the scenery and even more I love the people I have met along the way. There are of course things I will not miss such as the bipolar weather and humidity but every great thing has to have a few down sides right?
Well I suppose I should update you on how my final day in Aussie went yesterday! I actually missed the bus to school on Wednesday which was really really REALLY bad because I had a final. Beth and I decided we had a fool proof plan to avoid either one of us missing the bus because we had the same final to go to. We were going to get on skype as soon as we woke up and if one of us hadn’t heard from the other by 7:15 we were going to call them. Well….that fool proof plan doesn’t work to well if you both sleep past your alarm haha. We woke up and got dressed in literally a minute and waited for the Metro Bus to come back and then begged Michael to do another trip to campus so we didn’t miss our 8:30 final. Thankfully he did! I knew I was asking for trouble when I went to bed at three the night before a final!
After the final I went to Movie World with Carolyn and Beth for one last time and went on the rollercoaster’s like two times each ride! We were hoping the park would be empty since it was a Wednesday and man were we wrong. On the first rollercoaster we went to we had to wait about 30 to 45 minutes just to get on it. However, it was so worth it. I love rollercoaster’s!!!! The first time we went to Movie World I had to convince Beth to ride the Superman rollercoaster, this time around she was sitting in the front row! If you go home and people want to know what you have improved or learned about yourself, tell them how brave you have become haha.
We were at the park until close and then had to catch a bus back to our apartments and got back around seven. The original plan was to have me pack and then we would go out but instead we went out first, and saved packing for later. In true Chelsea form!
We went out to the State of the Origin (look Beth I said it right!) and just had two drinks while watching the game before we headed home. It was a good game, Queensland won, which is where I live… (or I suppose I should save lived now) and so that is who I am going to cheer for! We won and that means we won the series… which I believe is what they call it. This was the fourth year in a row that Queensland beat New South Wales! The games are actually really fun to watch but for different reasons then you would think. I don’t honestly care about who wins, but watching how violent they get and some of the moves they use is quite hilarious to me. I should have watched more games while I was in Aussie.
After the game I went home and started packing (yes I had one suitcase packed on Sunday but basically had my entire room left to pack in the other suitcase). I finished packing at around midnight and was debating if I should stay up until six so I didn’t miss my shuttle to the airport or if I should get some sleep and hope not to oversleep. Once I finished packing I went over to Beth’s and we hung out while she packed up her Aussie life. I didn’t want to leave to go to bed because I knew it was the last time we were going to hang out.
However, at around 3 in the morning I decided I would get three hours of sleep and would just hope I didn’t miss my shuttle. I had to sleep without my stuffed animals since they were packed and had given my pillows away to Carolyn who is staying there for a year. Not having the best sleeping conditions I thought I wouldn’t be able to sleep however I got knocked right out. I am assuming I was so tired because the night before I had gotten about three or four hours of sleep as well.
This morning Beth and Carolyn woke up at six to see me and so we could all say our goodbyes. It didn’t feel like I was really saying goodbye to them for real (real deal) it just felt like I was going to go away for the weekend and come back on Monday back to our normal routine. I really didn’t want to leave this morning but I had to go out front and wait for the shuttle so I didn’t miss it.
Once I got on the shuttle and we started driving away from Metro it hit me. I realized I wouldn’t see Metro, or Aldi, or ride the bus on Whiting and Brown St. anymore. It hit me that I am leaving and will most likely not come back for a long while. I really have come to feel like Australia is my home and I am going to miss it.
Once I let my brain start getting into thinking about how I don’t know when I will get back to Australia, and I don’t know when I will see any of the friends I made here my eyes started to water up. I felt like I would be fine if I listened to music and so I put my Ipod in and started listening to Celine Dion… which didn’t help lol. For whatever reason as soon as I started listening to Celine Dion I started to cry..not like sobbing but still crying. So I grabbed the biggest pair of sunnies I have out of my backpack and went back to staring out the window.
Somewhere along the line I calmed down and passed out on the bus. These people on the shuttle must have thought I was insane because I was crying at first, and then I went to bed and woke myself up from snoring hahaha! On the bright side when I woke up we were at the airport! It made the hour and a half ride go by super quick.
I got to the aiport thirty minutes before I was able to check in and so I just sat down and waiting for check in to open. I would have walked around but my big suitcase has a broken handle and so it is really hard to walk around with. That is one thing I will not miss about Australia is all the flight drama!
Once check in opened I was hoping and praying that I would not have to pay for overweight luggage. My first bag came to 24.1 Kilos and my second bag came to 17.9 Kilos. 1 Kilo = 2.2 Pounds if that makes it easier. (First bag was 53.02 pounds and second bag was 39.38 pounds). I asked her how close I was to having to pay and she said if my bag would have been 25 Kilos I would have had to pay for it. At that point I just kept thinking “ I AM SO LUCKY, I AM SO LUCKY, I AM SO LUCKY WWOOOOO HHHOOOOO!!!!!!!” I really did not want to pay for the extra luggage lol.
So after I checked in my bags I wandered around for a bit and then went down to customs and security. I completely forget I had things in the side of my backpack and ended up having to throw out a brand new tube of tooth paste, water (which I bought upstairs because it had a screw top so I figured it would be fine) and the last thing stung a bit when he took it away. The last item he took from me was my beloved tanning oil that smells SSSSOOOOO good and I was unbelievably excited to use it in Fiji so I would come home with a great tan. Whelp, I guess that is not happening anymore haha.
I told the guy I was unaware it was in there and tried to talk my way out of it but didn’t work. I guess I can’t talked my way out of everything, who would have thought haha. I am even more bummed because now it is just going to go to waste. Kat and Carolyn loved the smell of that stuff and I would have easily given it to them if I would have known. I hope the security guard at least realizes how amazing that stuff is and snatches it, goes home, strips naked and tans in his back yard with it. That way it is at least getting used and not getting tossed in to a rubbish bin! I just realized something that made me laugh a bit. I am more concerned I lost something that would get me tan, then losing something that cleans my teeth every morning…hahahhaha! I have my priorities right I see! Another bummer is Guy asked me if I had any tooth paste I could give him because he was out and I said no because I was taking it with me, sorry Guy! (BTW before I make Guy sound like a total bum he asked it because I gave him, Kat and Carolyn all the things I would not be bringing home with me...all my little hygienic stuff, school supplies, bathroom stuff, etc.)
Right now I am sitting on the plane flying over the ocean to Fiji and writing all of this. It is the first time I have really used my laptop on a airplane and it makes me feel so business like, even though I am just writing a blog. I feel like I am writing some long business proposal or something. If anyone asks I will tell them that is what I am doing just to make me look sophisticated haha. I would say just kidding to that last sentence…but I really don’t think I was haha!
We are flying on Air Pacific which is operated by Qauntas. I must say I would rather be on Qaunta’s then this flight. I like Quanta’s because each person gets a personalized television screen to entertain themselves and there is just a little bit more room around you. I am also flying Air Pacific on the way back and am hoping since it is a twelve hour flight that they would give us the upgraded version instead of a run down one. We will see!
Well… I guess the time has come to write my last blog entry about Australia. I can’t believe I won’t be travelling anymore and I am no longer going to be surrounded by someone who I truly consider one of my best friends now. I will of course keep in contact because I am pretty good at maintaining friend ships, I just can’t wait until we can go visit each other…hopefully it comes sooner rather then later.
I have definitely learned a lot about myself from this experience and could not express how happy I am that I decided to spend a semester abroad. I will miss the friends I have made since being here, but at the same time I am extremely excited to see my family and friends back home!
In the next couple days I will try to update you all on my Fiji experience, and then I will be home! I can’t believe It is Thursday and Monday I will be home… Still feels like I am returning back to Gold Coast after this weekend.
Alright I love you, miss you & will SEE you all soon!
Love,
Chels
Sunday, June 21, 2009
Chelsea on the web...
Ok so I know I sometimes get confused in all the different things going on online so to make it easier for everyone here are a bunch of different ways you can contact me, look at pics of me, etc!
The obvious one is my blog (Please follow me so I know who is reading it!)
http://chelsea-is-abroad.blogspot.com/
Pictures to go along with the blog:
http://picasaweb.google.com/ChelseaTaylor77
Twitter:
https://twitter.com/ChelseaTaylor77
Skype Name:
Chelseataylor77
Myspace:
http://www.myspace.com/azallstar7
Alright that should keep you up to date at what I am up to!!!
Love you all!
The obvious one is my blog (Please follow me so I know who is reading it!)
http://chelsea-is-abroad.blogspot.com/
Pictures to go along with the blog:
http://picasaweb.google.com/ChelseaTaylor77
Twitter:
https://twitter.com/ChelseaTaylor77
Skype Name:
Chelseataylor77
Myspace:
http://www.myspace.com/azallstar7
Alright that should keep you up to date at what I am up to!!!
Love you all!
Happy Fathers Day!
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| Make a Smilebox slideshow |
Dad!
I love you more then words could say and am very grateful to have you be half the reason I am here today! :) You make me laugh more then anyone else I know, and you have more love to hand out than any other dad out there.
I love you and miss you terribly!
Hope today is a great day for you!
Love,
Bean
Thursday, June 18, 2009
Grandma,
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| Make a Smilebox greeting |
You have been someone I can always look up to, and someone that I truly admire. I am lucky to share a name with you, but even more to share the memories we have made together. I love you! Enjoy today!
I love you a bushel and peck
A bushel and peck and a hug around the neck
A hug around the neck and a barrel and a heap
A barrel and a heap and I'm talking in my sleep
About you, about you
Cause I love you a bushel and a peck
You bet your pretty neck, I do
Doodle, oodle, oodle, doodle, oodle, oodle, doodle, oodle, oodle oo
I love you a bushel and peck
A bushel and peck though you make my heart a wreck
Make my heart a wreck and you make my life a mess
Make my life a mess, yes
A mess of happiness
About you, about you
Cause I love you a bushel and a peck
You bet your pretty neck, I do
Doodle, oodle, oodle, doodle, oodle, oodle, doodle, oodle, oodle oo
I love you a bushel and peck
A bushel and peck and it beats me all to heck
Beats me all to heck and I'll never tend the farm
Never tend the farm when I wanna keep my arm
About you, about you
Cause I love you a bushel and a peck
You bet your pretty neck, I do
Doodle, oodle, oodle, doodle, oodle, oodle, doodle, oodle, oodle oo
XOXO,
Chels
Tuesday, June 16, 2009
Finals, Birthdays and Such
So since I am not traveling anymore while in Australia I figured I would just start writing about little things. I forewarn you, these posts probably will not be as fun to read as the ones where I am actually out doing stuff.
On Sunday we went out for Bethanys 21st birthday!!! Having been able to drink for the past four months it really didn't seem like a big deal but I tried my best to make it a good birthday for her! Sam, Guy, Carolyn, Kat, Beth and I started the celebrations at around 3:00 PM. We all got dressed up and then had to take the bus to where we were going. I felt very out of place walking in a black dress and heals onto the city bus haha. All well, at least my carbon footprint will be smaller from all the public transportation I have taken this semester!
After our bus ride we went to the Qdeck. Q1 is the tallest residential building in the southern hemisphere. It makes me laugh that I have to add the southern hemisphere part on every time I tell what the building is. We went to the 77th floor (in 47 seconds, the elevator was so fast we had to equalize our ears haha) and got there just in time to have a drink and watch the sunset. We ordered Tequila Sunrises and took pictures and just enjoyed the site. I am really going to miss the scenery from Australia. This is the only place I have been to that has the big city, beach and yet it doesn't feel like a major city at all. I love how green everything is here, def going to miss that when I head back to dry ol' Arizona.
So after Q1 we headed over to Benihana's for Beth's birthday dinner! This was only my second time being there but I would recomend this place for people wanting to go out and celebrate. (However keep in mind it is pretty expensive, you wouldn't go here on a normal basis). The dinner was good and consisted of the chef throwing eggs and shrimp at us. The chef threw a piece of shrimp at everyone and you had to try and catch it with your mouth. Out of eight people I was the only one who actually caught it with their mouth, which surprised me. I would not think I would have caught it haha.
After dinner we went and got tattoos. I got mine on my wrist and so did Beth. Before I go on maybe I should clarify that these were airbursh tattoos and not real ones haha! Actually mine is already wearing off and it has only been three days. Bummer. :(
After getting our amazing tattoos ;) we went out to Waxy's. Since it was Beth's 21st I kept buying her drinks and shots! I am sure she will celebrate her ability to buy alcoholic beverages when she gets back home to the states! After Waxy's (which is just like a small bar) we went out to the beach. Guy hoped into the water but the rest of us just put our feet in and watched guy run through the waves. After the beach we headed home. The next day (on Beths actual B-day) we went to Seaworld. This was my first time ever going to Seaworld and it was different then I expected. A day on the town, and a day at Seaworld is how Beth celebrated her 21st b-day! Luckily for her she goes home so close to when her birthday was that her friends at home will still want to celebrate it with her when she gets back to Rhode Island!
And now onto the not so fun stuff...school...
Today I had my first (and hardest) final at 8:30 in the morning. I had been studying for it and last night I realized that the entire time I had been studying I had been studying the wrong chapters. So even though I felt I had a good understanding on what I was studying it was completely pointless because I was studying chapters that were not going to be on the test. After realizing this I should have started reading the correct chapters and start my studying over, but instead I opted to watch Taken with Bethany and Carolyn. Sometimes a break from homework can do ya good!
I woke up this morning a little scared that I was unprepared for my exam and I got to campus thirty minutes early for a little last minute studying. However when it came time to take the exam (which was all open answer) I actually think I did really good! There were two questions I wasn't exactly sure and I made up some answer however I think I got what I needed to get the grade I wanted in the class. :)
Now all I have left is another paper that is due in a few hours (just have to finish editing it), one more essay due on Friday (which I have yet to start) and then one last final on the 24th. I am not really worried anymore since the hardest exam is out of the way! I expect my grades for this semester will be an A, two B's, and one C (Marketing!). Which will even out to a 3.0 for the semester which I am completely fine with. I know a lot of other students over here who if their GPA transferred back home they would be in some real trouble.
So that is all that is really knew with me.
Love you all!!!
On Sunday we went out for Bethanys 21st birthday!!! Having been able to drink for the past four months it really didn't seem like a big deal but I tried my best to make it a good birthday for her! Sam, Guy, Carolyn, Kat, Beth and I started the celebrations at around 3:00 PM. We all got dressed up and then had to take the bus to where we were going. I felt very out of place walking in a black dress and heals onto the city bus haha. All well, at least my carbon footprint will be smaller from all the public transportation I have taken this semester!
After our bus ride we went to the Qdeck. Q1 is the tallest residential building in the southern hemisphere. It makes me laugh that I have to add the southern hemisphere part on every time I tell what the building is. We went to the 77th floor (in 47 seconds, the elevator was so fast we had to equalize our ears haha) and got there just in time to have a drink and watch the sunset. We ordered Tequila Sunrises and took pictures and just enjoyed the site. I am really going to miss the scenery from Australia. This is the only place I have been to that has the big city, beach and yet it doesn't feel like a major city at all. I love how green everything is here, def going to miss that when I head back to dry ol' Arizona.
So after Q1 we headed over to Benihana's for Beth's birthday dinner! This was only my second time being there but I would recomend this place for people wanting to go out and celebrate. (However keep in mind it is pretty expensive, you wouldn't go here on a normal basis). The dinner was good and consisted of the chef throwing eggs and shrimp at us. The chef threw a piece of shrimp at everyone and you had to try and catch it with your mouth. Out of eight people I was the only one who actually caught it with their mouth, which surprised me. I would not think I would have caught it haha.
After dinner we went and got tattoos. I got mine on my wrist and so did Beth. Before I go on maybe I should clarify that these were airbursh tattoos and not real ones haha! Actually mine is already wearing off and it has only been three days. Bummer. :(
After getting our amazing tattoos ;) we went out to Waxy's. Since it was Beth's 21st I kept buying her drinks and shots! I am sure she will celebrate her ability to buy alcoholic beverages when she gets back home to the states! After Waxy's (which is just like a small bar) we went out to the beach. Guy hoped into the water but the rest of us just put our feet in and watched guy run through the waves. After the beach we headed home. The next day (on Beths actual B-day) we went to Seaworld. This was my first time ever going to Seaworld and it was different then I expected. A day on the town, and a day at Seaworld is how Beth celebrated her 21st b-day! Luckily for her she goes home so close to when her birthday was that her friends at home will still want to celebrate it with her when she gets back to Rhode Island!
And now onto the not so fun stuff...school...
Today I had my first (and hardest) final at 8:30 in the morning. I had been studying for it and last night I realized that the entire time I had been studying I had been studying the wrong chapters. So even though I felt I had a good understanding on what I was studying it was completely pointless because I was studying chapters that were not going to be on the test. After realizing this I should have started reading the correct chapters and start my studying over, but instead I opted to watch Taken with Bethany and Carolyn. Sometimes a break from homework can do ya good!
I woke up this morning a little scared that I was unprepared for my exam and I got to campus thirty minutes early for a little last minute studying. However when it came time to take the exam (which was all open answer) I actually think I did really good! There were two questions I wasn't exactly sure and I made up some answer however I think I got what I needed to get the grade I wanted in the class. :)
Now all I have left is another paper that is due in a few hours (just have to finish editing it), one more essay due on Friday (which I have yet to start) and then one last final on the 24th. I am not really worried anymore since the hardest exam is out of the way! I expect my grades for this semester will be an A, two B's, and one C (Marketing!). Which will even out to a 3.0 for the semester which I am completely fine with. I know a lot of other students over here who if their GPA transferred back home they would be in some real trouble.
So that is all that is really knew with me.
Love you all!!!
Friday, June 12, 2009
A pirates life for me!!!
Every time I go on a trip I get so excited to tell everybody back home about all of my adventures, and when it comes time to write in my blog I always end up finding different things to do. I love informing everyone about my trip, but for some reason having to write in a blog never seems to entertain me. However, after I write my blog I feel very happy and am glad that I did write in my blog. I think once I get home it will be very interesting to go back and read my old entries to remind me of how fortunate I have been to visit all the places I have been to, and do all the crazy things I have done this past semester. So now onto another post about one of my favorite trips...of course I say that about basically every trip I go on don't I?
From Saturday (June 6th) until Wednesday (June 10th) I went on a trip to the Whitsundays with people that live around me in my apartment complex. In total there were eight people' Karlie, Emily, Kate, Jordan, Guy, Austin, Beth and me. Even though it was a pretty big size group to go with it worked out really well for us in the end.
When we arrived on Saturday we had to take a forty minute bus ride to get t Airlie Beach where we were staying for the night. Airlie Beach is a really small town where most people go just as a gateway to go to the Whitsundays. However, I absolutely loved the town of Airlie beach. It of course was centered around the tourism but the town was absolutely gorgeous and when you did pass houses they were million dollars houses like you would see in California.
After our bus ride we went to check into our hostel for the night. Since it is the end of the semester we are all in saving money mode and since there was a even amount of people we decided to only book half the amount of beds as there were people. We booked four beds, for eight people and decided we would share beds in order to save money. This hostel had you pay to rent a pillow and comforter and so to continue on with our "saving money" theme we just went without either one for the night.
After check in we all got ready and we went out to beaches and mama africas for a night on the town. I had an absolute blast and my friend Karlie participated in a dance off at beaches that night. She laughs about the situation but I thought she did amazing...I could have never participated in a dance off with everyone watching haha.
We stayed out until about two that morning and then headed back to our hostel to attempt to get a good nights rest for the night. I am not thinking any of us had a good nights rest that night but it was all worth it nonetheless.
The next morning our group split into half. Karlie, Jordan, Emily, and Kate we all staying in Airlie Beach and Austin, Guy, Beth and I were all headed out to go on a two day, two night sailing trip. Our first stop before getting on the boat was the liquor store. We decided since we would be sailing for two days we would get rum. Funny enough later on in our trip we were all saying "Where has all the rum gone?" and felt like Johnny Depp in Pirates of the Caribbean.
After buying our rum we went to check in and get on the boat. We had a decent walk to where the boat was but the town is so gorgeous every step of the way you had a gorgeous view to look at. After everyone getting the stinger suites and checking in we all hopped onto Matador (which was our boats name).
The captain went over standard rules and then we were off on our sailing trip. For the first day we didn't really do much except for sail around the islands. (By the way the Whitsundays are just a chain of 74 Islands and is a popular tourist destination in case you were wondering). We got to watch the boys put up the sail which took like six guys to do because it was so heavy and then got a good laugh at watching the girls attempt to do the same thing. Dad I did ask the details on the size of the boat but I don't really remember what they said. I THINK he said the thing that sticks out of the boat was either 115 or 150 feet tall, and the boat was 80 feet long? I'm not sure if that is exactly correct but that is what I am thinking.
After sailing for a few hours we stopped for where we would be staying for the night. Our boat had a diving board and so everyone took turns doing jumps and flips off of the side of the boat into the water. We were then able to see some giant fish come up to the boat when we threw bread into the water. I attempted to take pictures of these fish but they didn't come out all that great.
That night we just took the smaller boat to the island we were anchored next to and went to the resort bar. I had a berry martini and then called it a night. When we took the boat back to our boat there were some people who had had a few to many drinks and were getting sick on the boat. There was one guy getting sick over the side of the boat and another one getting sick in the bathroom. Sadly enough my bed was right next to the bathroom and so when I went into my room all I could hear/smell was that someone was getting sick. I waited up a few more hours hoping he would get better and go to bed and ended up having to go to bed with my room still smelling like that (and the guy completely passed out on the toilet lol).
The next morning we woke up bright and early to go to Whitehaven beach. Whitehaven beach is part of the Whitsunday Islands and is also the most photographed beach in the world. Once again we had to take our little motor boat which fit like 8 people at a time over to the island. We had 24 people on our trip in total and so the poor crew had to take the trip to the island four times to get everyone over. We took about a twenty minute walk to get over to Betty's Beach which is the part of Whitehaven that we visited.
Needless to say it was absolutely GORGEOUS! The sand is so small that you can literally clean your jewelery with it and it would come out looking brand new. The sand was also so soft that it felt like you were walking on flour. The sand was also probably the whitest sand I have seen since being in Australia.While we were there we also saw three stingrays swimming around in the water! We hung out there for about an hour and a half before we headed back onto the boat.
After getting back to our boat we went sailing for a bit and got the an outer part of the great barrier reef. You had the option to go snorkeling (which was included in the package) or go diving for an extra cost. Since we had already went diving three weeks before Beth and I opted for the snorkeling. Guy joined us and then Austin went diving for his first time ever.
I was happy I got to snorkel the reef one more time before I headed home and saw a lot of really cool colored fish, and once again I saw Nemo! There were also other cool fish like the Parrot Fish and Beth saw a completely black fish that had red lips! It is intimidating swimming over the reef with your large snorkeling gear (basically talking about the foot wear here). I did not want to hit the reef and damage it, but sadly I did end up kicking it a few times. I tried to be as cautious as possible though. I took my underwater disposable camera to try and get rid of the pictures I had left on it, however I am not going to develop these until I get home.
After snorkeling we went sailing for a few hours and the anchored for the night. After eating dinner we once again headed beck to the island to go to the resort bar once again. This time around I had a "Golden Sun" which was Bicardi, Pineapple, Banana and Orange juice. Very tasty. I have learned I like the girly fruity drinks and do not prefer beer (yuuucckkkk!!). Sad thing is beer is always the cheaper way to go and sometimes sacrifices have to be made.
We had an awesome time at the bar this time and have many inside jokes that have been formed from that night. Austin and Guy ended up pushing Bethany into the ocean in a wheelbarrow and getting her completely soaked from head to toe. After they broke their pinky promise to her that they weren't going to put her into the water Beth got her payback and pushed Guy into the water using the wheelbarrow as well.
After having our fun with the wheelbarrow we then went hunting for coconuts. (Actually on second thought I think this happened before the wheelbarrow but all well...I am telling it now!). After finding a good coconut we had Guy crack it open and we each tried the coconut milk! It honestly just tasted like normal milk to me. Then after we drank all of the milk we cracked the coconut completely open and ate the coconut. It was really dry and made you thirsty but it was cool to say I have tried a coconut from a tree while in Aussie. :)
After all of our adventures we headed back to the boat and called it a night. The next morning we had to pack all of our stuff up and get off of the boat. We arrived back to Airlie Beach around 11:00 AM and walked back to the lagoon to hang out for a while. After a while Beth and I decided we wanted to go check into the hostel and take a nice long shower. The downside to our sailing was that there was not a shower and so our daily "shower' was just us swimming in the ocean. We went back in and were only going to rent two beds for the four of us so that we could share beds and save money once again.
Literally two minutes after I paid for a bed in a room Guy comes over and tells us that Karlie, Emily, Jordan, and Kate had four empty beds in their room. They were told by someone checking out that they had already paid for the beds but were staying in a hotel instead so that we could stay in there instead. This worked out nicely so that we could all get our own bed for the night instead of sharing a bed. I tried to get a refund for my other room but it was nonrefundable and so the four of us shared the cost.
After checking in and taking a nice long warm shower we all just hung out in the room for a bit. Later on Karlie, Beth and I decided to go play some pool. Let me just say I am NOT good at this game. It took the three of us about an hour to finish one game overall. haha. Pathetic, I know, but it was still fun!
After playing pool and grabbing some dinner we went out to Beaches and Mama Africa's for one more night in Airlie Beach. After our night out we all went back to our rooms around 2:00 AM and headed to bed. Since we had not paid for a comforter I ended up sleeping under my towel to try and keep warm. It didn't really work though, I continued to freeze my butt off throughout the night.
In the morning I woke up to someone saying "who has a key? Excuse me, who should be here and who shouldn't?" Turns out someone rated us out and we got caught. The person who was waking us up was a worker from the hostel. Having only had a few hours none of us were ready for this ambush and weren't really sure what to do. Guy, Beth, and Austin were able to sneak out without having to pay and we made a plan to meet at the lagoon.
After attempting to say I didn't know any of the people who had left I ended up having to pay for a bed for the previous night (to be split between us on later on). My attempt to say that I did not know any of the other people in the room was pretty pathetic and when I look back at it I get a good laugh at it.
By 7:30 AM we were all out of the hostel with all of our bags and had basically set up camp on the lagoon. We went to the grocery store and bought breakfast and just ate at the lagoon. We ended up spending from 7:30 - 4:00 PM literally just laying out by the lagoon. I put more SPF on this day then I had for the entire trip. You would think that time would have gone by so slow but somehow we all made it pass by and it was a fun day nonetheless.
After catching a bus to the airport at 4:00 we had a flight to catch! We ended up catching our flight, catching a train for an hour and a half, another bus and then walking for twenty before we got home at 10:15 PM on Wednesday.
I had an absolute blast and was a good last trip to have. I still cannot believe my traveling in Australia is over! The last two weeks are going to be spent here in the Gold Coast getting things done such as school. :)
Alright well I hope you all enjoyed my story of how I went from being a pirate to homeless but for now I am headed to bed. It is 1:45 AM here and I am sure you are all amazed at how long this post already is. What can I say, I talk a lot!
I love you all!
xoxo
Chels
P.S. Pictures just finished uploading to Picasa so go take a look at them! :)
From Saturday (June 6th) until Wednesday (June 10th) I went on a trip to the Whitsundays with people that live around me in my apartment complex. In total there were eight people' Karlie, Emily, Kate, Jordan, Guy, Austin, Beth and me. Even though it was a pretty big size group to go with it worked out really well for us in the end.
When we arrived on Saturday we had to take a forty minute bus ride to get t Airlie Beach where we were staying for the night. Airlie Beach is a really small town where most people go just as a gateway to go to the Whitsundays. However, I absolutely loved the town of Airlie beach. It of course was centered around the tourism but the town was absolutely gorgeous and when you did pass houses they were million dollars houses like you would see in California.
After our bus ride we went to check into our hostel for the night. Since it is the end of the semester we are all in saving money mode and since there was a even amount of people we decided to only book half the amount of beds as there were people. We booked four beds, for eight people and decided we would share beds in order to save money. This hostel had you pay to rent a pillow and comforter and so to continue on with our "saving money" theme we just went without either one for the night.
After check in we all got ready and we went out to beaches and mama africas for a night on the town. I had an absolute blast and my friend Karlie participated in a dance off at beaches that night. She laughs about the situation but I thought she did amazing...I could have never participated in a dance off with everyone watching haha.
We stayed out until about two that morning and then headed back to our hostel to attempt to get a good nights rest for the night. I am not thinking any of us had a good nights rest that night but it was all worth it nonetheless.
The next morning our group split into half. Karlie, Jordan, Emily, and Kate we all staying in Airlie Beach and Austin, Guy, Beth and I were all headed out to go on a two day, two night sailing trip. Our first stop before getting on the boat was the liquor store. We decided since we would be sailing for two days we would get rum. Funny enough later on in our trip we were all saying "Where has all the rum gone?" and felt like Johnny Depp in Pirates of the Caribbean.
After buying our rum we went to check in and get on the boat. We had a decent walk to where the boat was but the town is so gorgeous every step of the way you had a gorgeous view to look at. After everyone getting the stinger suites and checking in we all hopped onto Matador (which was our boats name).
The captain went over standard rules and then we were off on our sailing trip. For the first day we didn't really do much except for sail around the islands. (By the way the Whitsundays are just a chain of 74 Islands and is a popular tourist destination in case you were wondering). We got to watch the boys put up the sail which took like six guys to do because it was so heavy and then got a good laugh at watching the girls attempt to do the same thing. Dad I did ask the details on the size of the boat but I don't really remember what they said. I THINK he said the thing that sticks out of the boat was either 115 or 150 feet tall, and the boat was 80 feet long? I'm not sure if that is exactly correct but that is what I am thinking.
After sailing for a few hours we stopped for where we would be staying for the night. Our boat had a diving board and so everyone took turns doing jumps and flips off of the side of the boat into the water. We were then able to see some giant fish come up to the boat when we threw bread into the water. I attempted to take pictures of these fish but they didn't come out all that great.
That night we just took the smaller boat to the island we were anchored next to and went to the resort bar. I had a berry martini and then called it a night. When we took the boat back to our boat there were some people who had had a few to many drinks and were getting sick on the boat. There was one guy getting sick over the side of the boat and another one getting sick in the bathroom. Sadly enough my bed was right next to the bathroom and so when I went into my room all I could hear/smell was that someone was getting sick. I waited up a few more hours hoping he would get better and go to bed and ended up having to go to bed with my room still smelling like that (and the guy completely passed out on the toilet lol).
The next morning we woke up bright and early to go to Whitehaven beach. Whitehaven beach is part of the Whitsunday Islands and is also the most photographed beach in the world. Once again we had to take our little motor boat which fit like 8 people at a time over to the island. We had 24 people on our trip in total and so the poor crew had to take the trip to the island four times to get everyone over. We took about a twenty minute walk to get over to Betty's Beach which is the part of Whitehaven that we visited.
Needless to say it was absolutely GORGEOUS! The sand is so small that you can literally clean your jewelery with it and it would come out looking brand new. The sand was also so soft that it felt like you were walking on flour. The sand was also probably the whitest sand I have seen since being in Australia.While we were there we also saw three stingrays swimming around in the water! We hung out there for about an hour and a half before we headed back onto the boat.
After getting back to our boat we went sailing for a bit and got the an outer part of the great barrier reef. You had the option to go snorkeling (which was included in the package) or go diving for an extra cost. Since we had already went diving three weeks before Beth and I opted for the snorkeling. Guy joined us and then Austin went diving for his first time ever.
I was happy I got to snorkel the reef one more time before I headed home and saw a lot of really cool colored fish, and once again I saw Nemo! There were also other cool fish like the Parrot Fish and Beth saw a completely black fish that had red lips! It is intimidating swimming over the reef with your large snorkeling gear (basically talking about the foot wear here). I did not want to hit the reef and damage it, but sadly I did end up kicking it a few times. I tried to be as cautious as possible though. I took my underwater disposable camera to try and get rid of the pictures I had left on it, however I am not going to develop these until I get home.
After snorkeling we went sailing for a few hours and the anchored for the night. After eating dinner we once again headed beck to the island to go to the resort bar once again. This time around I had a "Golden Sun" which was Bicardi, Pineapple, Banana and Orange juice. Very tasty. I have learned I like the girly fruity drinks and do not prefer beer (yuuucckkkk!!). Sad thing is beer is always the cheaper way to go and sometimes sacrifices have to be made.
We had an awesome time at the bar this time and have many inside jokes that have been formed from that night. Austin and Guy ended up pushing Bethany into the ocean in a wheelbarrow and getting her completely soaked from head to toe. After they broke their pinky promise to her that they weren't going to put her into the water Beth got her payback and pushed Guy into the water using the wheelbarrow as well.
After having our fun with the wheelbarrow we then went hunting for coconuts. (Actually on second thought I think this happened before the wheelbarrow but all well...I am telling it now!). After finding a good coconut we had Guy crack it open and we each tried the coconut milk! It honestly just tasted like normal milk to me. Then after we drank all of the milk we cracked the coconut completely open and ate the coconut. It was really dry and made you thirsty but it was cool to say I have tried a coconut from a tree while in Aussie. :)
After all of our adventures we headed back to the boat and called it a night. The next morning we had to pack all of our stuff up and get off of the boat. We arrived back to Airlie Beach around 11:00 AM and walked back to the lagoon to hang out for a while. After a while Beth and I decided we wanted to go check into the hostel and take a nice long shower. The downside to our sailing was that there was not a shower and so our daily "shower' was just us swimming in the ocean. We went back in and were only going to rent two beds for the four of us so that we could share beds and save money once again.
Literally two minutes after I paid for a bed in a room Guy comes over and tells us that Karlie, Emily, Jordan, and Kate had four empty beds in their room. They were told by someone checking out that they had already paid for the beds but were staying in a hotel instead so that we could stay in there instead. This worked out nicely so that we could all get our own bed for the night instead of sharing a bed. I tried to get a refund for my other room but it was nonrefundable and so the four of us shared the cost.
After checking in and taking a nice long warm shower we all just hung out in the room for a bit. Later on Karlie, Beth and I decided to go play some pool. Let me just say I am NOT good at this game. It took the three of us about an hour to finish one game overall. haha. Pathetic, I know, but it was still fun!
After playing pool and grabbing some dinner we went out to Beaches and Mama Africa's for one more night in Airlie Beach. After our night out we all went back to our rooms around 2:00 AM and headed to bed. Since we had not paid for a comforter I ended up sleeping under my towel to try and keep warm. It didn't really work though, I continued to freeze my butt off throughout the night.
In the morning I woke up to someone saying "who has a key? Excuse me, who should be here and who shouldn't?" Turns out someone rated us out and we got caught. The person who was waking us up was a worker from the hostel. Having only had a few hours none of us were ready for this ambush and weren't really sure what to do. Guy, Beth, and Austin were able to sneak out without having to pay and we made a plan to meet at the lagoon.
After attempting to say I didn't know any of the people who had left I ended up having to pay for a bed for the previous night (to be split between us on later on). My attempt to say that I did not know any of the other people in the room was pretty pathetic and when I look back at it I get a good laugh at it.
By 7:30 AM we were all out of the hostel with all of our bags and had basically set up camp on the lagoon. We went to the grocery store and bought breakfast and just ate at the lagoon. We ended up spending from 7:30 - 4:00 PM literally just laying out by the lagoon. I put more SPF on this day then I had for the entire trip. You would think that time would have gone by so slow but somehow we all made it pass by and it was a fun day nonetheless.
After catching a bus to the airport at 4:00 we had a flight to catch! We ended up catching our flight, catching a train for an hour and a half, another bus and then walking for twenty before we got home at 10:15 PM on Wednesday.
I had an absolute blast and was a good last trip to have. I still cannot believe my traveling in Australia is over! The last two weeks are going to be spent here in the Gold Coast getting things done such as school. :)
Alright well I hope you all enjoyed my story of how I went from being a pirate to homeless but for now I am headed to bed. It is 1:45 AM here and I am sure you are all amazed at how long this post already is. What can I say, I talk a lot!
I love you all!
xoxo
Chels
P.S. Pictures just finished uploading to Picasa so go take a look at them! :)
Friday, June 5, 2009
I'll be home soon! :)
So I have my official flight home and it is soon, very soon! In fact I will be back home by the end of THIS month! It is so crazy how fast time flies. Here is what my flight info looks like:
Leave Brisbane at 11:30 AM on June 25th
Arrive at Nadi (Fiji) 5 PM on June 25th.
Leave Fiji 10 PM June 29th
Arrive in LA at 1:20 PM June 29th
Three hour layover
Leave LA 4:20 PM June 29th
Arrive in Phx 5:43 PM June 29th!!!!
So even though I will fly for eleven hours from Fiji, have a three hour layover, and another two hours flight I will still be getting back on June 29th (even earlier then the time I left Fiji!).
The time difference is crazy but I am very excited to finally have all of this figured out. I am going to meet Sam (I Traveled with her to Byron Bay & Melbourne) in Fiji and we also have the same flight to LA.
I am leaving for the Whitsundays tomorrow and will be back on Wednesday (June 6th- June 10th). This is my last big trip I am taking while I am in Australia! Then once I get back next week it will be time to write my two final papers and study for the two exams I am. Then next thing you know it I will be packing to go to Fiji and leave Australia!
I will update you all on my trip when I get home & I am sure I will have loads of pictures for you to all enjoy.
Talk to you all soon! Actually lets change that to SEE you all soon. :)
Love,
Chels
Leave Brisbane at 11:30 AM on June 25th
Arrive at Nadi (Fiji) 5 PM on June 25th.
Leave Fiji 10 PM June 29th
Arrive in LA at 1:20 PM June 29th
Three hour layover
Leave LA 4:20 PM June 29th
Arrive in Phx 5:43 PM June 29th!!!!
So even though I will fly for eleven hours from Fiji, have a three hour layover, and another two hours flight I will still be getting back on June 29th (even earlier then the time I left Fiji!).
The time difference is crazy but I am very excited to finally have all of this figured out. I am going to meet Sam (I Traveled with her to Byron Bay & Melbourne) in Fiji and we also have the same flight to LA.
I am leaving for the Whitsundays tomorrow and will be back on Wednesday (June 6th- June 10th). This is my last big trip I am taking while I am in Australia! Then once I get back next week it will be time to write my two final papers and study for the two exams I am. Then next thing you know it I will be packing to go to Fiji and leave Australia!
I will update you all on my trip when I get home & I am sure I will have loads of pictures for you to all enjoy.
Talk to you all soon! Actually lets change that to SEE you all soon. :)
Love,
Chels
Sunday, May 31, 2009
Melbourne
Now on to my second post of the day! :)
This past weekend Sam, Beth and I all went to Melbourne in Southern Australia. It was only a weekend trip however we did manage to get a lot into the few days we were there.
Our flight from the Gold Coast left at 10:35 AM on Thursday and so we woke up bright and early to catch the city bus to the airport. We were out the door by 7:30 and then had to catch three busses to the airport (1 to Uni to meet with Sam and then 2 after to get to Cooli Airport). We arrived at around 9:45 and waited in line to check in.
We got to the counter with 43 minutes left until our flight left and the lady continued on to tell us that check in for our flight closed at 45 minutes prior to take off and she then shoved us off to the side to wait for someone to come out and help us. We expected someone to come out and rush us to our flight so we could get on, but that was NOT the case. The workers just continued to ignore us and after our flight had left then someone came out to help us.
This guy then continued to tell us we would have to pay $170 each in order to catch the next flight to Melbourne (which btw is pronounced as Mel-Bun no Mel-Born). We went to every other airline possible to try and take a different company but the $170 was the cheapest we could get. So even though we did not want to travel with them we ended up paying the $170 to get on the next flight. Our original ROUND TRIP tickets cost $150 and for just one way we had to pay the $170 it was so ridiculous.
Ok but enough ranting and raving about that, now onto my weekend! That night when we got into Melbourne we went to little Italy and we worked our magic with the owner of a restaurant and had some amazing food, and got free champagne, wine and garlic bread out of it haha. The girl at the front desk of our hostel told us how to get the free food and so we listened to her advice and it worked perfectly.
When we found a place we thought we wanted to go to the owner was like "ladies sit down we will give you the best seat in the house" and we stood looking at the menu taking our time acting like we weren't interesting and then he offered free wine or free champagne, we then continued to look uninteresting and he offered us free garlic bread and so we sat down. :)
Then after dinner we went searching for desserts because we have been told Melbourne has really good desserts and so we went on a hunt. On our walk we found a really small casino and went in and played for a little while. Beth was playing on a machine and got bored of it and so then moved over and played it and my first dollar I played I won $12 haha made me happy. First time I was in a casino last year I won $7, this weekend I won $12 so maybe when I am actually legal to be in a casino I will won a lot more!!! :D
After leaving the Casino we continued our hunt for a good dessert place and we found one! By far the best I have had since being in Australia! What made it even better was that I was able to pay for it with my winnings from the casino. :)
The next morning we went on a tour of the great ocean road and 12 apostles. There is not much I can tell you about it as it was all about the scenery but it was really gorgeous! I decided to take a helicopter over the 12 apostles and am happy I did because it was gorgeous!! The pictures will be posted soon I promise! Until Picassa finishes uploading here are a few for you to look at!
Wild Koalas!
Sunday we went on another tour saw some more scenery and then went to watch the penguin parade which is where you just watch a bunch of wild penguins come home for the night. They leave the ocean in groups and walk up the beach walk through the forest right next to you. It sounds boring but it was really cool and they are the smallest penguins in the world; standing only about a foot tall. The sad thing about this was we were not able to take pictures so I don't have anything to show you. If you are interested search "faerie Penguins" in Google and I am sure you will be able to find something about them. They were super cute and I loved how they would walk. They do not have knees and so they would wabble and it was the cutest thing I have seen!!!
The next morning was our last day in Melbourne. We woke up early and walked around the town and just wasted a few hours doing that. Since it is their fall time it was cold enough that we could see our breathe our during the day. We could also see a ton of fog above buildings, it was a nice change in weather!!
I really loved Melbourne's architecture it had a lot of old fashioned churches, mixed with modern skyscrapers, Art Nouveau houses and even more Victorian style buildings. It was a huge mixture of different design styles but I enjoyed it and wish I could have gotten more pictures of the buildings.
We then left for the airport at 11, even though our flight was not until 2 PM to make sure they could not rip us off again. However we got there and for FORTY minutes
not a single worker was at the counter and so we stood there waiting. Then when we checked in we were told our flight was delayed another hour. It was ridiculous and anyone planning to visit Melbourne I advice you to NOT take Tiger Airways.
Alright well that is all I have to tell you about my trip to Melbourne!!!
More posts to come soon, and I will be home sooner then you know it!
Love,
Chels
This past weekend Sam, Beth and I all went to Melbourne in Southern Australia. It was only a weekend trip however we did manage to get a lot into the few days we were there.
Our flight from the Gold Coast left at 10:35 AM on Thursday and so we woke up bright and early to catch the city bus to the airport. We were out the door by 7:30 and then had to catch three busses to the airport (1 to Uni to meet with Sam and then 2 after to get to Cooli Airport). We arrived at around 9:45 and waited in line to check in.
We got to the counter with 43 minutes left until our flight left and the lady continued on to tell us that check in for our flight closed at 45 minutes prior to take off and she then shoved us off to the side to wait for someone to come out and help us. We expected someone to come out and rush us to our flight so we could get on, but that was NOT the case. The workers just continued to ignore us and after our flight had left then someone came out to help us.
This guy then continued to tell us we would have to pay $170 each in order to catch the next flight to Melbourne (which btw is pronounced as Mel-Bun no Mel-Born). We went to every other airline possible to try and take a different company but the $170 was the cheapest we could get. So even though we did not want to travel with them we ended up paying the $170 to get on the next flight. Our original ROUND TRIP tickets cost $150 and for just one way we had to pay the $170 it was so ridiculous.
Ok but enough ranting and raving about that, now onto my weekend! That night when we got into Melbourne we went to little Italy and we worked our magic with the owner of a restaurant and had some amazing food, and got free champagne, wine and garlic bread out of it haha. The girl at the front desk of our hostel told us how to get the free food and so we listened to her advice and it worked perfectly.
When we found a place we thought we wanted to go to the owner was like "ladies sit down we will give you the best seat in the house" and we stood looking at the menu taking our time acting like we weren't interesting and then he offered free wine or free champagne, we then continued to look uninteresting and he offered us free garlic bread and so we sat down. :)
Then after dinner we went searching for desserts because we have been told Melbourne has really good desserts and so we went on a hunt. On our walk we found a really small casino and went in and played for a little while. Beth was playing on a machine and got bored of it and so then moved over and played it and my first dollar I played I won $12 haha made me happy. First time I was in a casino last year I won $7, this weekend I won $12 so maybe when I am actually legal to be in a casino I will won a lot more!!! :D
After leaving the Casino we continued our hunt for a good dessert place and we found one! By far the best I have had since being in Australia! What made it even better was that I was able to pay for it with my winnings from the casino. :)
The next morning we went on a tour of the great ocean road and 12 apostles. There is not much I can tell you about it as it was all about the scenery but it was really gorgeous! I decided to take a helicopter over the 12 apostles and am happy I did because it was gorgeous!! The pictures will be posted soon I promise! Until Picassa finishes uploading here are a few for you to look at!
Wild Koalas!
Sunday we went on another tour saw some more scenery and then went to watch the penguin parade which is where you just watch a bunch of wild penguins come home for the night. They leave the ocean in groups and walk up the beach walk through the forest right next to you. It sounds boring but it was really cool and they are the smallest penguins in the world; standing only about a foot tall. The sad thing about this was we were not able to take pictures so I don't have anything to show you. If you are interested search "faerie Penguins" in Google and I am sure you will be able to find something about them. They were super cute and I loved how they would walk. They do not have knees and so they would wabble and it was the cutest thing I have seen!!!
The next morning was our last day in Melbourne. We woke up early and walked around the town and just wasted a few hours doing that. Since it is their fall time it was cold enough that we could see our breathe our during the day. We could also see a ton of fog above buildings, it was a nice change in weather!!
I really loved Melbourne's architecture it had a lot of old fashioned churches, mixed with modern skyscrapers, Art Nouveau houses and even more Victorian style buildings. It was a huge mixture of different design styles but I enjoyed it and wish I could have gotten more pictures of the buildings.
We then left for the airport at 11, even though our flight was not until 2 PM to make sure they could not rip us off again. However we got there and for FORTY minutes
not a single worker was at the counter and so we stood there waiting. Then when we checked in we were told our flight was delayed another hour. It was ridiculous and anyone planning to visit Melbourne I advice you to NOT take Tiger Airways.
Alright well that is all I have to tell you about my trip to Melbourne!!!
More posts to come soon, and I will be home sooner then you know it!
Love,
Chels
One month left and I am just figuring this out...
I have been writing in my blog since December and have been told by several people that they cannot leave comments. I always figured this had something to do with them making errors, however I just figured out it was my fault. I had the settings so that only members could write comments, oops! Now it is fixed and you can easily leave a comment after you have read one of my entries! Feel free to write comments as I would love to hear any input you have, and it is always nice to know I have people reading my blog. :)
Anyways I have lots to talk about in this post, so prepare for a lengthy one!
School is going good, and surprisingly I only have two days of classes left. Wednesday (or Tuesday for everyone back home) is the last day I have to go to any of these classes. I have made it my goal to make it to every single class this week and so far I am on the right track. I made it to my Monday class today, which is AMAZING because it has been a while since I made it to that class...on the bright side the class is basically pointless when you go, so I never really miss anything lol.
With classes ending in two days that means I only have two papers left to write and then two final exams as well. I can't believe the end of the semester is already here! My last final is June 24th at 8:30 in the morning, and I will be home shortly after that.
I am trying to figure out my flights currently by as of right now I am going to fly to Fiji either June 25th, or 26th and will stay there for a few day before flying home on either June 30th or July 1st. I will keep you all updated once I officially change my ticket.
I do have a question and am curious what people think. When booking my flight home I of course am hoping for a row all to myself but just in case I can't what seat do you think I should chose? Aisle, or Window? There are pro's and con's to each and am just curious what everyone else would do for a twelve hour flight!
I have been in Australia 105 days, and only have around 30 left. The days are going to tick by!!!
Ok Instead of writing on extremely long blog I am going to write two entries today. This is going to be the end of this blog, and now I am off to go start on my second entry of the day. :)
Friday, May 22, 2009
Bipolar weather!
So right now I am sitting in my room with the fan off, in my warmest pajama bottoms and a zip up hoodie on! It is extremely rainy and my thoughts about Australia's weather being bipolar still stand! Past couple of days we have had so much rainfall that a natural disaster has been declared and there is flooding all over Queensland. Luckily the flooding isn't really to close to me but it is all over the news at night. A few days ago it was just a downpour all day long, today it was blue skies and tonight we ran to the car to get out of the rain. Needless to say I am not use to any sort of weather and so I am not very fond of all of this rain. I much prefer when the weather behaves itself and doesn't close down beaches, and flood places.
Anyhow, it has been a while since I have updated you and there are plenty of things for me to tell you about so prepare yourself for a long post!
This weekend we stayed in Gold Coast and are learning we get a bit bored when we aren't traveling and do not have set places to go. So tonight we decided to go bowling. Man, do I need to practice that! We played two games and I came in second place both times. However, I never even made it past 100. :(
Last weekend Beth and I flew to Cairnes! We met up with Kirstine and Emily who are the two British girls we met when we were traveling in New Zealand last month. I was really excited that we were able to meet up with those girls one more time before they flew home to England.
We left on Thursday out of Brisbane. However to get to that airport we had to first take a train for an hour and half and we arrived in the airport pretty early. We waited around for our flight and were extremely surprised when we got on the flight that not one single time did we have to show proof of who we were. Not one single time did we have to show a photo ID or anything. That would never happen at home with security as tight as ours!
We arrived in Cairnes at around midnight and took a shuttle to our hostel. We stayed at the Cairnes all girls hostel and absolutely loved it. Dawn left our key in a keylock on the gate since we were getting in after the reception had closed. We just paid for our hostel the morning after and it worked out really nicely for us. We ended up getting a room with just Beth and I for only $24 a night which is an AMAZING deal because usually we will pay that much for a dorm style room. It was nice to not have to worry about anyone else being in our room except for the two of us.
The next morning we slept in until 11 because we were just so darn tired (we didn't go to bed until 3 after arriving to our hostel and settling in). We wanted to go to the rain forest that day and so we went up to Dawn and asked her if there were any tours for that day. Turns out there were but they had left at 6:45 AM. Even if we had known about that we probably would not have woken up early enough to make it. So we did not get to see the rain forest after all. :(
Instead we went down to the lagoon and hung out at the park for a couple hours. It was relaxing and it felt great to just have a relaxing day. The night before we left for Cairnes I pulled an all nighter to get two assignments turned in and doing nothing is exactly what I wanted to do then.
Saturday we woke up early and went on our tour to the Great Barrier Reef. We went on a really nice boat and it was an all day event. I thought the boat ride out to the reed was going to be a couple hours but it didn't seem long at all!
Once we got there we got separated into groups to go diving. It was Kirstine, Emily, Beth and I in our own group with a dive instructor. They went over everything with us and I got really excited for going diving. However, when it came time to do it I became a real wuss. They had us doing all of these under water tests where you had to show that you knew how to get water out of your goggles under water, and what to do if you breathing piece came out. Well I kept panicking because it just felt way to unnatural. I kept shooting up to the surface and when you have a negative buoyancy it is really hard to stay on the surface which freaked me out even more.
Beth was freaking out just as much as I was, which I was happy for because I felt like I was being ridiculous. I seriously thought they were not going to let me actually go diving. However after several times of me shooting up to the surface (which I later found out is really really bad for you) they got me to calm down enough to where we could go diving.
I had not mastered how to breathe through just my mouth and so I had to hold my nose the entire time I was swimming. Since I didn't know how to get the water out of my goggle there was water where the nose piece was and every time I would attempt to breathe through my nose I would get water up my nose. I am sure the instructor was laughing at me and I felt really weird holding my breathe underwater knowing I could breathe and also because I never normally hold my nose.
The dive lasted for about twenty minutes and I was more scared during it then I was when I went sky diving.
After we went diving we all went snorkeling. We didn't go snorkeling for to long until we got on the boat for lunch. Once we got on the boat we saw a bunch of dolphins swimming off of the side of our boat. It was really cool to see, and best of all we didn't have to pay for a tour to see it. We were lucky to see that!
After lunch there was a second dive that we decided to go on. This time we did not have to do the testing that they had us do the first time. Not doing this testing made me feel so much better and I was a little more brave this time around. I finally figured out how to get the water out of my goggles (4/7 times I was successful, the other 3 ended up with more water in my mask) and I was also able to swim without having to hold my breathe.
This made the second dive WAY more enjoyable for me! When we were down there we saw a sea turtle, a shark, and a clown fish (AKA Nemo!). Sadly even though we had an underwater camera the girl who had it at the time didn't capture any of these items! :( I really wish I had gotten a picture of it but all well, at least I saw it in real life! The second dive lasted for about 40 minutes and I was extremely happy I decided to do a second dive.
That took up most of our day and after it ended we got back to Cairnes around 4:00 PM. We all decided to go to the grocery store and pick up some biscuits (which are what they call cookies) and some other lollies (which is what they call sweets). We hung out at our hostel eating biscuits and lollies and then went out for dinner and drinks after that.
We had a really fun night and parted ways at the end of the night! I was really sad to say goodbye to Emily and Kirstine but know that if I ever travel to London I have a place to stay with either of them and also my own personal tour guide. :)
The next morning we headed back to Gold Coast! We left our hostel at 7:30 AM and didn't get back to our Apartments until about 3:00 PM. We had to take a Bus, Plane, Train and another Bus in order to get home.
So that was my last weekend! I really enjoyed going to Cairnes and seeing it since that is where I originally had planned to study abroad. In some ways I think I would have really enjoyed if I had studied there, but Cairnes also had its down sides. It was just nice to put that curiosity away.
This week I also booked a flight to the Whitsundays in June which is probably the last flight I have to purchase while I am here! My time is almost up and I can't believe I have already been here several months and only really have ONE month left! My how time flies!
I am flying to Melbourne next week and booked my tours for that yesterday! We are going to Phillips Island and The Great Ocean Road. I am pretty sure that will be the next place I right about in my blog.
For now I am headed to bed, wishing for better weather for tomorrow.
I love you & miss you all! I will see you all very shortly. :)
BTW my picassa has been uploaded with my pictures from Cairnes! Enjoy! http://picasaweb.google.com/ChelseaTaylor77
xoxo
Chels
Anyhow, it has been a while since I have updated you and there are plenty of things for me to tell you about so prepare yourself for a long post!
This weekend we stayed in Gold Coast and are learning we get a bit bored when we aren't traveling and do not have set places to go. So tonight we decided to go bowling. Man, do I need to practice that! We played two games and I came in second place both times. However, I never even made it past 100. :(
Last weekend Beth and I flew to Cairnes! We met up with Kirstine and Emily who are the two British girls we met when we were traveling in New Zealand last month. I was really excited that we were able to meet up with those girls one more time before they flew home to England.
We left on Thursday out of Brisbane. However to get to that airport we had to first take a train for an hour and half and we arrived in the airport pretty early. We waited around for our flight and were extremely surprised when we got on the flight that not one single time did we have to show proof of who we were. Not one single time did we have to show a photo ID or anything. That would never happen at home with security as tight as ours!
We arrived in Cairnes at around midnight and took a shuttle to our hostel. We stayed at the Cairnes all girls hostel and absolutely loved it. Dawn left our key in a keylock on the gate since we were getting in after the reception had closed. We just paid for our hostel the morning after and it worked out really nicely for us. We ended up getting a room with just Beth and I for only $24 a night which is an AMAZING deal because usually we will pay that much for a dorm style room. It was nice to not have to worry about anyone else being in our room except for the two of us.
The next morning we slept in until 11 because we were just so darn tired (we didn't go to bed until 3 after arriving to our hostel and settling in). We wanted to go to the rain forest that day and so we went up to Dawn and asked her if there were any tours for that day. Turns out there were but they had left at 6:45 AM. Even if we had known about that we probably would not have woken up early enough to make it. So we did not get to see the rain forest after all. :(
Instead we went down to the lagoon and hung out at the park for a couple hours. It was relaxing and it felt great to just have a relaxing day. The night before we left for Cairnes I pulled an all nighter to get two assignments turned in and doing nothing is exactly what I wanted to do then.
Saturday we woke up early and went on our tour to the Great Barrier Reef. We went on a really nice boat and it was an all day event. I thought the boat ride out to the reed was going to be a couple hours but it didn't seem long at all!
Once we got there we got separated into groups to go diving. It was Kirstine, Emily, Beth and I in our own group with a dive instructor. They went over everything with us and I got really excited for going diving. However, when it came time to do it I became a real wuss. They had us doing all of these under water tests where you had to show that you knew how to get water out of your goggles under water, and what to do if you breathing piece came out. Well I kept panicking because it just felt way to unnatural. I kept shooting up to the surface and when you have a negative buoyancy it is really hard to stay on the surface which freaked me out even more.
Beth was freaking out just as much as I was, which I was happy for because I felt like I was being ridiculous. I seriously thought they were not going to let me actually go diving. However after several times of me shooting up to the surface (which I later found out is really really bad for you) they got me to calm down enough to where we could go diving.
I had not mastered how to breathe through just my mouth and so I had to hold my nose the entire time I was swimming. Since I didn't know how to get the water out of my goggle there was water where the nose piece was and every time I would attempt to breathe through my nose I would get water up my nose. I am sure the instructor was laughing at me and I felt really weird holding my breathe underwater knowing I could breathe and also because I never normally hold my nose.
The dive lasted for about twenty minutes and I was more scared during it then I was when I went sky diving.
After we went diving we all went snorkeling. We didn't go snorkeling for to long until we got on the boat for lunch. Once we got on the boat we saw a bunch of dolphins swimming off of the side of our boat. It was really cool to see, and best of all we didn't have to pay for a tour to see it. We were lucky to see that!
After lunch there was a second dive that we decided to go on. This time we did not have to do the testing that they had us do the first time. Not doing this testing made me feel so much better and I was a little more brave this time around. I finally figured out how to get the water out of my goggles (4/7 times I was successful, the other 3 ended up with more water in my mask) and I was also able to swim without having to hold my breathe.
This made the second dive WAY more enjoyable for me! When we were down there we saw a sea turtle, a shark, and a clown fish (AKA Nemo!). Sadly even though we had an underwater camera the girl who had it at the time didn't capture any of these items! :( I really wish I had gotten a picture of it but all well, at least I saw it in real life! The second dive lasted for about 40 minutes and I was extremely happy I decided to do a second dive.
That took up most of our day and after it ended we got back to Cairnes around 4:00 PM. We all decided to go to the grocery store and pick up some biscuits (which are what they call cookies) and some other lollies (which is what they call sweets). We hung out at our hostel eating biscuits and lollies and then went out for dinner and drinks after that.
We had a really fun night and parted ways at the end of the night! I was really sad to say goodbye to Emily and Kirstine but know that if I ever travel to London I have a place to stay with either of them and also my own personal tour guide. :)
The next morning we headed back to Gold Coast! We left our hostel at 7:30 AM and didn't get back to our Apartments until about 3:00 PM. We had to take a Bus, Plane, Train and another Bus in order to get home.
So that was my last weekend! I really enjoyed going to Cairnes and seeing it since that is where I originally had planned to study abroad. In some ways I think I would have really enjoyed if I had studied there, but Cairnes also had its down sides. It was just nice to put that curiosity away.
This week I also booked a flight to the Whitsundays in June which is probably the last flight I have to purchase while I am here! My time is almost up and I can't believe I have already been here several months and only really have ONE month left! My how time flies!
I am flying to Melbourne next week and booked my tours for that yesterday! We are going to Phillips Island and The Great Ocean Road. I am pretty sure that will be the next place I right about in my blog.
For now I am headed to bed, wishing for better weather for tomorrow.
I love you & miss you all! I will see you all very shortly. :)
BTW my picassa has been uploaded with my pictures from Cairnes! Enjoy! http://picasaweb.google.com/ChelseaTaylor77
xoxo
Chels
Monday, May 11, 2009
Fraser Island
Before I start typing about my weekend let me just say HAPPY MOTHERS DAY!!!!!! I hope all of the moms I know had a wonderful day with their families! Sorry I couldn't be there to spend today with you mom, I love you and I have an I.O.U. for when I get home!
Now I will continue on to talk about this past weekend. Let me just say Fraser Island was absolutely GORGEOUS and so far has been my favorite place that I have been to in Australia! I will upload pictures to Picasa as soon as I can so that you guys can see just how wonderful this place was! We only made it a weekend trip but we packed a lot into just a few days!
It was Kat, Carolyn, Beth and me going on this weekend trip! We left on Friday night after Kat got after work and got on the road at around 8 P.M. which actually worked out so that we avoided any traffic jams! Originally I thought the drive to Hervey Bay (which is where we would stay that night) was only 3ish hours, but it ended up being about 5 hours which still isn't that far of a drive. We got to our hostel at around 1:00 AM and were all ready to go to bed. We checked into our hostel and it was us four girls and then two guys as well who were from New Zealand and San Diego. The guys were really cool and I was surprised to hear that neither of them had met many Americans while being here. I am slowly learning where I chose to study abroad so did basically every other American lol. I like traveling because I get to meet so many people from around the world and there are usually plenty of interesting conversations to be held.
The next morning we were up at around 7:00 AM and I was exhausted because I didn't fall asleep until sometime after 3:45 (which is the last time I looked at the clock). We got picked up by a shuttle bus and then headed down to hop onto the catamaran to go to Fraser Island. It was only about a forty minute ride until we got to the island and as soon as you stepped onto the dock you realized just how pretty of a place you were going to spend your weekend. I really wish I could get pictures to capture just how pretty all of these places are but I can never get them to capture all of its beauty!
When we got off of the catamaran we dropped off our bags to be taken to the resort and then met our tour guide Peter, who was absolutely hilarious the entire trip! When we got on our big four wheel drive bus we continued on to drive through the forest. Somewhere along the line I found out that Fraser Island is the largest sand island in the world and that is basically just another bragging right it has. :)
We drove for a little and then hiked through the forest for about ten minutes until we got to Basin Lake, which was a really pretty fresh water lake on the Island. There is a story that the entire Island is a god who wanted to be part of the earth, and all of the lakes are here eyes so that she can still see into the clouds where the rest of the gods are.
After Basin Lake we took a thirty minute hike through the forest, where it started to rain! I kept laughing to myself at how I was walking through a rain forest, through the rain! After our little hike we ended up at Central Station and had lunch. Central Station is where the rail road use to be, but no longer is. Lunch consisted of really good ham and pineapple sandwiches along with some pasta salad.
After lunch we went on another small hike through the forest along Wanggoolba Creek where the water was so clear you couldn't even tell the creek had water in it!!! We only hiked for about fifteen minutes to meet Peter at the bus and then drive to Lake McKenzie.
It is really hard to chose my favorite place on Fraser Island but this is definitely towards the top of the list. I have never seen sand so white, and water SO clear. Not to mention that it was surrounded by a rain forest just made the scenery stunning. It started to rain a bit and to add to the beauty a really big rainbow started to show in the sky! Normally I would have asked for blue sky and white clouds but the rainbow stretching across the island seemed to be just as good! The sand at lake McKenzie is so fine that you can clean your jewelry and exfoliate your skin with it. I took a couple pictures with my underwater camera so we will see how they turn out, I still have to take 15 pictures before I can develop it.
After Lake McKenzie we headed back to the resort and checked in. We attempted to go and watch the sunset but instead of going right which was the correct way, we turned left and got onto the wrong track. So after that we took a shuttle back to the dingo bar and had dinner. From dinner we went back to reception and went swimming. The pool was heated so it was a perfect way to end the day. After a bit we all moved into the hot tub and just relaxed, had girl conversations and stared at the stars and full moon! After the hot tub we went back and took showers at our cabins. We then went down to the Dingo Bar and had a drink that was called "Bootylicious" and it basically tasted like cherry 7-up. We were there for a bit but then still made it back and were in bed by midnight.
On Sunday we woke up at around 7:00 AM again and headed down to breakfast. After breakfast we were on the bus for a pretty drive on a 75 mile long beach while we headed towards the Maheno Shipwreck. The ship had been there since 1935 when the Japanese lost it during a storm. They had taken out the propellers to make it easier to transfer but then ship got disconnected from the ship that was towing it and since it didn't have propellers there was no way to keep it on track and it ended up landed on Fraser Island. During the second war Australia had tested a bomb on it, but since it wasn't a direct hit the ship isn't totally ruined. (Although it is very deteriorated).
After the Maheno Shipwreck we stopped and looked at the Colored Sands which honestly there isn't much to say about that. We then continued onto the Sand Dunes which were just really really fun! On the walk towards the sand dunes we passed a really large spider that was just hanging in between two trees but sadly I couldn't capture a good picture of it for everyone to see.
After hiking up one giant sand hill with your feet sinking every step you took we then continued to jump off the sides of the sand dunes! You literally could not see what was below until you went up to the very edge. When you would go to jump you wouldn't be able to see what you were going to land in (but obviously it was going to be sand) and so it just felt like you were jumping off of a cliff!! When you landed you ended up stuck in sand that went all the way up to your knees haha.
We stuck around there jumping around for a bit before we headed over to some really pretty champagne pools. Champagne Pools are where the rocks and sand have gone a little further out into the ocean and make a little pool filled with ocean water. Then when you sit in the pool you get a view of a bunch of waves crashing in front of you and then they would continue to toss you around in the champagne pool. We hung around there for a bit before heading back to the bus.
On our way to Indian Head we saw a wild Dingo! He was just wondering around the beach and we all got off of the bus to take pictures of him while he just sat there looking at us, wondering why we were all taking pictures of him haha.
When we got to Indian Head we had a ten minute hike up to gorgeous lookout spot on the Island! We were basically at the edge of a cliff sitting and standing on rocks looking at our surroundings. In one look you could see the ocean, forest, and sand dunes all at once. Simply Gorgeous.
Since we had missed the sunset the night before Peter drove a little bit faster on the forest roads then normal so we could make it to the beach and watch the sunset over the water. We can't do this where I live because I live on the east coast so the sun only rises over the water. However, since we were staying on the west side of the Island we could watch it here! We made it just in the right amount of time!
After sunset we went and hung out in the pool and hot tub once again. We couldn't pass up the opportunity knowing we had to leave soon! After the hot tub we went and had dinner for about 45 minutes before the bus picked us up to take us to catch the 8:00 PM catamaran. We got back to our car at around 9:00 PM and headed back on the road!
We got back to our apartments at about 2:00 AM and then all headed to bed!
All in All this weekend was an absolute blast and one of my favorites so far! Pictures will be up soon, but it may be a few days as I have a couple homework assignments I need to start working on.
I love and Miss you all!!!
Chels <3
P.s. Sorry it is so long I obviously do not know how to make a short post!
Now I will continue on to talk about this past weekend. Let me just say Fraser Island was absolutely GORGEOUS and so far has been my favorite place that I have been to in Australia! I will upload pictures to Picasa as soon as I can so that you guys can see just how wonderful this place was! We only made it a weekend trip but we packed a lot into just a few days!
It was Kat, Carolyn, Beth and me going on this weekend trip! We left on Friday night after Kat got after work and got on the road at around 8 P.M. which actually worked out so that we avoided any traffic jams! Originally I thought the drive to Hervey Bay (which is where we would stay that night) was only 3ish hours, but it ended up being about 5 hours which still isn't that far of a drive. We got to our hostel at around 1:00 AM and were all ready to go to bed. We checked into our hostel and it was us four girls and then two guys as well who were from New Zealand and San Diego. The guys were really cool and I was surprised to hear that neither of them had met many Americans while being here. I am slowly learning where I chose to study abroad so did basically every other American lol. I like traveling because I get to meet so many people from around the world and there are usually plenty of interesting conversations to be held.
The next morning we were up at around 7:00 AM and I was exhausted because I didn't fall asleep until sometime after 3:45 (which is the last time I looked at the clock). We got picked up by a shuttle bus and then headed down to hop onto the catamaran to go to Fraser Island. It was only about a forty minute ride until we got to the island and as soon as you stepped onto the dock you realized just how pretty of a place you were going to spend your weekend. I really wish I could get pictures to capture just how pretty all of these places are but I can never get them to capture all of its beauty!
When we got off of the catamaran we dropped off our bags to be taken to the resort and then met our tour guide Peter, who was absolutely hilarious the entire trip! When we got on our big four wheel drive bus we continued on to drive through the forest. Somewhere along the line I found out that Fraser Island is the largest sand island in the world and that is basically just another bragging right it has. :)
We drove for a little and then hiked through the forest for about ten minutes until we got to Basin Lake, which was a really pretty fresh water lake on the Island. There is a story that the entire Island is a god who wanted to be part of the earth, and all of the lakes are here eyes so that she can still see into the clouds where the rest of the gods are.
After Basin Lake we took a thirty minute hike through the forest, where it started to rain! I kept laughing to myself at how I was walking through a rain forest, through the rain! After our little hike we ended up at Central Station and had lunch. Central Station is where the rail road use to be, but no longer is. Lunch consisted of really good ham and pineapple sandwiches along with some pasta salad.
After lunch we went on another small hike through the forest along Wanggoolba Creek where the water was so clear you couldn't even tell the creek had water in it!!! We only hiked for about fifteen minutes to meet Peter at the bus and then drive to Lake McKenzie.
It is really hard to chose my favorite place on Fraser Island but this is definitely towards the top of the list. I have never seen sand so white, and water SO clear. Not to mention that it was surrounded by a rain forest just made the scenery stunning. It started to rain a bit and to add to the beauty a really big rainbow started to show in the sky! Normally I would have asked for blue sky and white clouds but the rainbow stretching across the island seemed to be just as good! The sand at lake McKenzie is so fine that you can clean your jewelry and exfoliate your skin with it. I took a couple pictures with my underwater camera so we will see how they turn out, I still have to take 15 pictures before I can develop it.
After Lake McKenzie we headed back to the resort and checked in. We attempted to go and watch the sunset but instead of going right which was the correct way, we turned left and got onto the wrong track. So after that we took a shuttle back to the dingo bar and had dinner. From dinner we went back to reception and went swimming. The pool was heated so it was a perfect way to end the day. After a bit we all moved into the hot tub and just relaxed, had girl conversations and stared at the stars and full moon! After the hot tub we went back and took showers at our cabins. We then went down to the Dingo Bar and had a drink that was called "Bootylicious" and it basically tasted like cherry 7-up. We were there for a bit but then still made it back and were in bed by midnight.
On Sunday we woke up at around 7:00 AM again and headed down to breakfast. After breakfast we were on the bus for a pretty drive on a 75 mile long beach while we headed towards the Maheno Shipwreck. The ship had been there since 1935 when the Japanese lost it during a storm. They had taken out the propellers to make it easier to transfer but then ship got disconnected from the ship that was towing it and since it didn't have propellers there was no way to keep it on track and it ended up landed on Fraser Island. During the second war Australia had tested a bomb on it, but since it wasn't a direct hit the ship isn't totally ruined. (Although it is very deteriorated).
After the Maheno Shipwreck we stopped and looked at the Colored Sands which honestly there isn't much to say about that. We then continued onto the Sand Dunes which were just really really fun! On the walk towards the sand dunes we passed a really large spider that was just hanging in between two trees but sadly I couldn't capture a good picture of it for everyone to see.
After hiking up one giant sand hill with your feet sinking every step you took we then continued to jump off the sides of the sand dunes! You literally could not see what was below until you went up to the very edge. When you would go to jump you wouldn't be able to see what you were going to land in (but obviously it was going to be sand) and so it just felt like you were jumping off of a cliff!! When you landed you ended up stuck in sand that went all the way up to your knees haha.
We stuck around there jumping around for a bit before we headed over to some really pretty champagne pools. Champagne Pools are where the rocks and sand have gone a little further out into the ocean and make a little pool filled with ocean water. Then when you sit in the pool you get a view of a bunch of waves crashing in front of you and then they would continue to toss you around in the champagne pool. We hung around there for a bit before heading back to the bus.
On our way to Indian Head we saw a wild Dingo! He was just wondering around the beach and we all got off of the bus to take pictures of him while he just sat there looking at us, wondering why we were all taking pictures of him haha.
When we got to Indian Head we had a ten minute hike up to gorgeous lookout spot on the Island! We were basically at the edge of a cliff sitting and standing on rocks looking at our surroundings. In one look you could see the ocean, forest, and sand dunes all at once. Simply Gorgeous.
Since we had missed the sunset the night before Peter drove a little bit faster on the forest roads then normal so we could make it to the beach and watch the sunset over the water. We can't do this where I live because I live on the east coast so the sun only rises over the water. However, since we were staying on the west side of the Island we could watch it here! We made it just in the right amount of time!
After sunset we went and hung out in the pool and hot tub once again. We couldn't pass up the opportunity knowing we had to leave soon! After the hot tub we went and had dinner for about 45 minutes before the bus picked us up to take us to catch the 8:00 PM catamaran. We got back to our car at around 9:00 PM and headed back on the road!
We got back to our apartments at about 2:00 AM and then all headed to bed!
All in All this weekend was an absolute blast and one of my favorites so far! Pictures will be up soon, but it may be a few days as I have a couple homework assignments I need to start working on.
I love and Miss you all!!!
Chels <3
P.s. Sorry it is so long I obviously do not know how to make a short post!
Friday, May 1, 2009
Skydiving Video!
Ok!!! So after several failed attempts of uploading my skydiving video I believe I have now found a way for you to see it. The quality isn't the best because I couldn't figure out how to save the original to my computer. So instead I took my digital camera and recorded the video while it played on my laptop. However, it works good enough for you to be able to see it! This is me jumping 15,000 feet in Taupo, New Zealand!!!! :D :D
Sunday, April 26, 2009
Byron Bay!
Hello!!!
I am never to sure how to start these entries, but figure a simple hello works best. :)
This past weekend I went on another trip! This means that the last four weekends I have spent out of Gold Coast. This next weekend is a long weekend, however we have decided to stay here and work on all our upcoming homework so when we start traveling again in May we won't be stressed about it!
Let me give you a little history on Byron Bay. It is a really small town where everyone walks around barefoot, it reminded me a lot of Lake Tahoe without the big hotels and casinos. Besides it's beauty the big thing it is known for is it is the most easterly point in Australia. There isn't much else to tell you about history otherwise I would go on!
Anyhow, let me tell you about my weekend in Byron Bay! It was definitely a last minute decision, we booked everything on Thursday and left Friday morning. I am going to break this down to days and hopefully it will make this entry a little more organized then the past couple entries about traveling.
Friday April 24th-
Friday Morning I woke up at around seven (after staying up until 3:00 AM to finish the Third Twilight book) and finished packing for my weekend. In true Chelsea Fashion I packed late, and also packed way to much. Packing is a skill I don't think I will ever acquire. After packing Beth and I went to catch the city bus into Surfers Paradise to catch the bus we would actually be taking into Byron Bay. We got there around 9:30 AM and our bus left at 10:00, so we went into to surfers to find breakfast. We didn't do anything fancy we just went into the grocery store and got some muffins and water to take on the bus with us. After going to the grocery store we met up with Sam who was also going with us. All three of us met at our orientation in Sydney.
The drive to Byron was nice and short. It was only an hour long, which is another thing that attracted us to going into Byron for the weekend. We got to the hostel a couple hours to early for check in, so we all changed into our swimsuits and headed down to the beach. It was a short walk from the hostel which I enjoyed!
The beach wasn't really crowded, but then again none of the beaches here get crowded like they do back home since the population is so spread out. We all just relaxed in the sun listening to our Ipods for a while before it was time to head back to our hostel.
We stayed in the Arts Factory Hostel which has some pretty interesting places to stay. We stayed in the lakeside cabin which was an all girls cabin that had a wrap around deck and was right by a lake. However it was really random that there were turkeys walking around outside of our cabin. You could hear them jumping into the trees all the time and then when you went outside there were at least ten you could see. The other types of hostels were a giant tepee you could sleep in, a double Decker bus, and tents.
That night we kept it casual and went to see Gran Tarino in the cinema that the hostel had. It was a really good movie, but a lot different then expected. The movie theater that they had was really cool though. You walked in and it was a hallway with a black light and stars and planets were painted on the walls. After that hallway you turned and then there was the theater. Instead of a traditional cinema layout this one had love seats that you could sit on, that were Zebra print. It was very interesting thats for sure!
After watching our movie we all headed back to our cabin and went to bed. :)
Saturday April 25th-
The next day we went to Nimbin because everyone said it was a good place for a day visit. So we booked a tour for $20 and then headed up there at around 10:30 in the morning. On the way we saw a waterfall and drove through an extremely curvy forest! Then we got to Nimbon which has a population of 400 people. It was where all the hippies went back in the 70's and it is still just a bunch of hippies. It revolved around weed though..there were shops like "Happy Herb High" or "Bringabong" (instead of billabong) and when you walked down the street within one minute we got offered weed 8 times (no worries I didn't buy anything!). It was definitly an interesting place thats for sure! We were there long enough to walk through town (which you could walk through town in under 2 mintes) and then we had lunch and got back on the bus. It was kidna sad though because there were families eating lunch with seven year olds sitting right next to people we were selling drugs. The kids didn't seem to even notice what was going on around them however when people were offering "cookies" the kids kept asking for them..which I am sure these are not the type of cookies they were looking for!
That night we were all exhausted and didn't really want to do anything but we forced ourselves to go out because people said we had to visit Cheaky Monkeys and we knew people would ask us about it when we got back and didn't wanna feel like losers and saying no lol. Cheaky Monkeys is a bar in town and so around 830 (yeah really early!!!) we went out. We got there and it was ladies night so we got free champagne, we each had one glass and then we decided we wanted to go back to our hostel and go to bed haha. We were a bunch of lazy bums that night thats for sure!!!
Sunday April 26th-
This is the morning we checked out of our hostel and also left Byron Bay. After checking out we went to the grocery store to buy stuff for a picnic on the beach! We went to the store and got yogurt, bananas, pretzels, and stuff to make pb & j with. We stopped and had breakfast (yogurt and bananas with Peanut butter toast..well bread since we didn't have a toaster lol) and then we went to walk up to the lighthouse which is the most easterly point of Australia. It was about a 2 mile hike and so we didn't think it would be bad except for the fact we took a wrong turn somewhere and took the longest way possible going up and down huge hills along the way!!! Finally we get to the lighthouse and we are all sweating so much because of how humid it was (we were literally walking through a forest to get to the lighthouse) we went up enjoyed the view and hung out for a while.
Then we went back down to go to the beach..which was just one hill going down...not the 4 or 5 we took getting there! If we would have stuck to the road and not taken a wrong turn the walk would have been SO easy but instead we ended up going for an unexpected hike lol. After that we got to the beach and went in the water because we were so hot! Then we dried off and had our pb & j sandwiches hung out for a bit and then went into town to wait for our bus to pick us up. We got Baskin Robins and I tried New Zealands national ice cream "Hokey Pokey" which I didn't care much for but hey at least I tried it right?? Almost immediately after eating our ice cream we hoped on the bus and headed back home!
So that was my weekend in Byron Bay! I do have pictures but they aren't on my computer yet, but keep looking at Picasa for any updates.
Love & Miss you all!!
P.s. This post was a LOT longer then I expected it to be, sorry about that!
I am never to sure how to start these entries, but figure a simple hello works best. :)
This past weekend I went on another trip! This means that the last four weekends I have spent out of Gold Coast. This next weekend is a long weekend, however we have decided to stay here and work on all our upcoming homework so when we start traveling again in May we won't be stressed about it!
Let me give you a little history on Byron Bay. It is a really small town where everyone walks around barefoot, it reminded me a lot of Lake Tahoe without the big hotels and casinos. Besides it's beauty the big thing it is known for is it is the most easterly point in Australia. There isn't much else to tell you about history otherwise I would go on!
Anyhow, let me tell you about my weekend in Byron Bay! It was definitely a last minute decision, we booked everything on Thursday and left Friday morning. I am going to break this down to days and hopefully it will make this entry a little more organized then the past couple entries about traveling.
Friday April 24th-
Friday Morning I woke up at around seven (after staying up until 3:00 AM to finish the Third Twilight book) and finished packing for my weekend. In true Chelsea Fashion I packed late, and also packed way to much. Packing is a skill I don't think I will ever acquire. After packing Beth and I went to catch the city bus into Surfers Paradise to catch the bus we would actually be taking into Byron Bay. We got there around 9:30 AM and our bus left at 10:00, so we went into to surfers to find breakfast. We didn't do anything fancy we just went into the grocery store and got some muffins and water to take on the bus with us. After going to the grocery store we met up with Sam who was also going with us. All three of us met at our orientation in Sydney.
The drive to Byron was nice and short. It was only an hour long, which is another thing that attracted us to going into Byron for the weekend. We got to the hostel a couple hours to early for check in, so we all changed into our swimsuits and headed down to the beach. It was a short walk from the hostel which I enjoyed!
The beach wasn't really crowded, but then again none of the beaches here get crowded like they do back home since the population is so spread out. We all just relaxed in the sun listening to our Ipods for a while before it was time to head back to our hostel.
We stayed in the Arts Factory Hostel which has some pretty interesting places to stay. We stayed in the lakeside cabin which was an all girls cabin that had a wrap around deck and was right by a lake. However it was really random that there were turkeys walking around outside of our cabin. You could hear them jumping into the trees all the time and then when you went outside there were at least ten you could see. The other types of hostels were a giant tepee you could sleep in, a double Decker bus, and tents.
That night we kept it casual and went to see Gran Tarino in the cinema that the hostel had. It was a really good movie, but a lot different then expected. The movie theater that they had was really cool though. You walked in and it was a hallway with a black light and stars and planets were painted on the walls. After that hallway you turned and then there was the theater. Instead of a traditional cinema layout this one had love seats that you could sit on, that were Zebra print. It was very interesting thats for sure!
After watching our movie we all headed back to our cabin and went to bed. :)
Saturday April 25th-
The next day we went to Nimbin because everyone said it was a good place for a day visit. So we booked a tour for $20 and then headed up there at around 10:30 in the morning. On the way we saw a waterfall and drove through an extremely curvy forest! Then we got to Nimbon which has a population of 400 people. It was where all the hippies went back in the 70's and it is still just a bunch of hippies. It revolved around weed though..there were shops like "Happy Herb High" or "Bringabong" (instead of billabong) and when you walked down the street within one minute we got offered weed 8 times (no worries I didn't buy anything!). It was definitly an interesting place thats for sure! We were there long enough to walk through town (which you could walk through town in under 2 mintes) and then we had lunch and got back on the bus. It was kidna sad though because there were families eating lunch with seven year olds sitting right next to people we were selling drugs. The kids didn't seem to even notice what was going on around them however when people were offering "cookies" the kids kept asking for them..which I am sure these are not the type of cookies they were looking for!
That night we were all exhausted and didn't really want to do anything but we forced ourselves to go out because people said we had to visit Cheaky Monkeys and we knew people would ask us about it when we got back and didn't wanna feel like losers and saying no lol. Cheaky Monkeys is a bar in town and so around 830 (yeah really early!!!) we went out. We got there and it was ladies night so we got free champagne, we each had one glass and then we decided we wanted to go back to our hostel and go to bed haha. We were a bunch of lazy bums that night thats for sure!!!
Sunday April 26th-
This is the morning we checked out of our hostel and also left Byron Bay. After checking out we went to the grocery store to buy stuff for a picnic on the beach! We went to the store and got yogurt, bananas, pretzels, and stuff to make pb & j with. We stopped and had breakfast (yogurt and bananas with Peanut butter toast..well bread since we didn't have a toaster lol) and then we went to walk up to the lighthouse which is the most easterly point of Australia. It was about a 2 mile hike and so we didn't think it would be bad except for the fact we took a wrong turn somewhere and took the longest way possible going up and down huge hills along the way!!! Finally we get to the lighthouse and we are all sweating so much because of how humid it was (we were literally walking through a forest to get to the lighthouse) we went up enjoyed the view and hung out for a while.
Then we went back down to go to the beach..which was just one hill going down...not the 4 or 5 we took getting there! If we would have stuck to the road and not taken a wrong turn the walk would have been SO easy but instead we ended up going for an unexpected hike lol. After that we got to the beach and went in the water because we were so hot! Then we dried off and had our pb & j sandwiches hung out for a bit and then went into town to wait for our bus to pick us up. We got Baskin Robins and I tried New Zealands national ice cream "Hokey Pokey" which I didn't care much for but hey at least I tried it right?? Almost immediately after eating our ice cream we hoped on the bus and headed back home!
So that was my weekend in Byron Bay! I do have pictures but they aren't on my computer yet, but keep looking at Picasa for any updates.
Love & Miss you all!!
P.s. This post was a LOT longer then I expected it to be, sorry about that!
Sunday, April 19, 2009
New Zealand!!!
Hello Hello Hello!!! I have just had the best 9 days of my life!!! It was absolutely gorgeous and I packed it full of adventure!!! The best part is I never went over my budget that I set for myself :) I will try my best to describe the week but everything sort of runs together in my head sometimes! I will have pictures up on picasa within the next few days, as for now here is everything that I did!
The first night we arrived in Auckland and the first thing we were told was that if we take a cab it would be about $40 to our hostel, so we decided to do that. Turns our that you had to have a coupon thing and we ended up paying $90 for one cab fair lol. It was honestly ridiculous. We have a very bad habit of getting bad taxi service..as you can tell from past stories and this one! Anyways, we got to our hostel around 7 p.m. on Friday and then just wandered the streets which were completely dead due to it being good Friday. We got pizza and that was about it for that day.
The next morning bright and early we met up with the Stray bus we were traveling with! This day we drove from Auckland to Hahei to Cathedral Cove. We stopped at a beach along the way where due to the earth being thinner there you could literally dig down into the sand and create a hot tub, and the water would be hot. So hot it was steaming! It was very interesting that is for sure. However, it was only a small part of the beach that was like that and so we didn't stay to long. We checked into our hostel and then all of us decided we wanted to see Cathedral Cove. So then Metro (the driver for stray) drove us all down there and told us we would walk home and that dinner would be at 7 O'clock. So then we find out it is a 45 minute walk to cathedral cove and none of us are wearing the correct clothing. We decided to go anyways and I am happy we did because it was absolutely gorgeous!!!
we stayed there for about a half hour and then had to walk about the hour we had walked PLUS the walk from where we got dropped off back to our hostel..all together it was about a 2 hour walk up and down hills lol. The rest of that night all we did was have a barbeque and get to meet everyone on the bus. It was really fun!
We went from Hahei to Raglan which was the day you had an option to take surfing lessons but only 5 people decided to actually do it. Instead we all just went to the beach and hung out for about 3 hours. The sand was like black (naturally) and really weird but at the same time gorgeous. After the beach we went back to our hostel and got ready to go out for dinner. We called a Taxi and then 7 of us went to dinner.
However since it was Easter weekend there weren't really any taxi services running and the one we called had driven an hour form the next town over because they didn't understand where we were going. So the cab driver drops us off really mad and tried charging us 150 for a 20 minute cab fair. We gave her 60 total and got out of the cab, we refused to pay that much ahah. So we went to dinner and then we were completely stranded in town and if we were to walk home it would have taken about 4 hours.... all seven of us ended up getting a ride home from the restaurants cleaning lady haha in the courtesy van that wasn't suppose to be running that day!!! Sad but true!!!
This was also April 11th, the day Rhianna got married and I was thinking about her all day long! CONGRATS RHIANNA! I wish I could have been there!!!!!!!!
Then from Raglan we drove to Waitomo. This day was really interesting! We went caving underground to look at glowwarms! It included abseiling three times (twice under a waterfall) climbing up 30 foot latters, rock climbing (actual rock climbing not the fake easy kind!!) and basically squeezing your body through holes where you couldn't even get your two feet through hahah!!
The very first thing we did was climb down a hole that was 40 meters long by abseiling..and you couldn't see anything because it was so dark! When you turned off your light it was completely dark and all you could see where the glowwarms glowing. It was pretty cool!! We did that for about 4 hours in total...the wetsuits were sssooo hard to get on and off lol I was very surprised any of us could move in them!!
After that we just drove from Waitumo to Maketu and had a cultural night. We learned a couple dances and songs and then just played games all night. Then at the end of the night about 40 of us slept in one giant room haha it was really fun but you can't really describe it and make it sound as fun as it actually was!
The next morning we stopped in Rotorua for lunch and then visited more geothermic areas where the ground was literally bowling from how hot the mud was. It was crazy and smelt like rotten eggs!!! From Rotorua we went to Taupo. and in Taupo we went sskkyyddiivvinnnnggg!!!!!!!!!!!!!! :D :D We went from the highest point possible, 15,000 feet!! It was amazing!! I was the first one to jump out of the plane too. I absolutely loved it and didn't get nervous at all! The ride up there I was right next to do the door which was completely see through and it was the most relaxing thing I have ever done! I think it is because of how much I love heights that I just enjoyed the entire thing and didn't get nervous once!
I surprisingly only screamed twice on it! When we went out of the plane I screamed, I wasn't even necessarily scared just felt like a reasonable time to be screaming so my body naturally did it haha and then the second time I screamed was when the parachute opened because it pulled us back up really fast and surprised me!
I forgot to tell you what we did before skydiving! We went zorbing! Which is you literally get inside of a gaint ball that has some water in it and get pushed down a hill. It was created in New Zealand so I figured I had to do it while I was there.
The next day we went to Tongariro National Park bright and early, we left at 6:50 in the morning!!! We woke up after only getting 3 hours of sleep because we went out the night before. The hike was literally a 7 hours long and I only went for about an hour into it, turned around and walked very slowly by myself back which took 3 hours..so 4 hours in total. I REALLY regret not doing the entire thing but found out it was super hard, they literally hiked a mountain RANGE. I was to dehydrated for it so it was better that I turned back just wish I hadn't. OH and I have never seen lord of the rings but if you have this was a part of what we were hiking. Mount Doom or something like that
Then that night we just stayed in a really nice hostel and relaxed which was nice!!! The next day we went to Wellington (which was another place Lord of the rings was filmed..Hobbitown was filmed there but I didn't actually go and visit because we got there to late). So we spent the day in the wellington museum which had 6 floors of exhibits and was the nicest museum I had been to! After the museum we went back to the hostel and got ready. We all went out to the bar that night because it was our last night with everyone!! It was a really fun night! Sadly, the next morning we had a 13 hour drive back to Auckland and I spent the last two days in Auckland.
I didn't care to much for Auckland honestly. It was a big city, but just wasn't my favorite place out of the entire trip!
So there you have it my week in a nutshell. :)
Can't wait to talk to you all so we can talk about everything I missed in my nine days away! I love you all & will have pictures up on Picasa within the week!
The first night we arrived in Auckland and the first thing we were told was that if we take a cab it would be about $40 to our hostel, so we decided to do that. Turns our that you had to have a coupon thing and we ended up paying $90 for one cab fair lol. It was honestly ridiculous. We have a very bad habit of getting bad taxi service..as you can tell from past stories and this one! Anyways, we got to our hostel around 7 p.m. on Friday and then just wandered the streets which were completely dead due to it being good Friday. We got pizza and that was about it for that day.
The next morning bright and early we met up with the Stray bus we were traveling with! This day we drove from Auckland to Hahei to Cathedral Cove. We stopped at a beach along the way where due to the earth being thinner there you could literally dig down into the sand and create a hot tub, and the water would be hot. So hot it was steaming! It was very interesting that is for sure. However, it was only a small part of the beach that was like that and so we didn't stay to long. We checked into our hostel and then all of us decided we wanted to see Cathedral Cove. So then Metro (the driver for stray) drove us all down there and told us we would walk home and that dinner would be at 7 O'clock. So then we find out it is a 45 minute walk to cathedral cove and none of us are wearing the correct clothing. We decided to go anyways and I am happy we did because it was absolutely gorgeous!!!
we stayed there for about a half hour and then had to walk about the hour we had walked PLUS the walk from where we got dropped off back to our hostel..all together it was about a 2 hour walk up and down hills lol. The rest of that night all we did was have a barbeque and get to meet everyone on the bus. It was really fun!
We went from Hahei to Raglan which was the day you had an option to take surfing lessons but only 5 people decided to actually do it. Instead we all just went to the beach and hung out for about 3 hours. The sand was like black (naturally) and really weird but at the same time gorgeous. After the beach we went back to our hostel and got ready to go out for dinner. We called a Taxi and then 7 of us went to dinner.
However since it was Easter weekend there weren't really any taxi services running and the one we called had driven an hour form the next town over because they didn't understand where we were going. So the cab driver drops us off really mad and tried charging us 150 for a 20 minute cab fair. We gave her 60 total and got out of the cab, we refused to pay that much ahah. So we went to dinner and then we were completely stranded in town and if we were to walk home it would have taken about 4 hours.... all seven of us ended up getting a ride home from the restaurants cleaning lady haha in the courtesy van that wasn't suppose to be running that day!!! Sad but true!!!
This was also April 11th, the day Rhianna got married and I was thinking about her all day long! CONGRATS RHIANNA! I wish I could have been there!!!!!!!!
Then from Raglan we drove to Waitomo. This day was really interesting! We went caving underground to look at glowwarms! It included abseiling three times (twice under a waterfall) climbing up 30 foot latters, rock climbing (actual rock climbing not the fake easy kind!!) and basically squeezing your body through holes where you couldn't even get your two feet through hahah!!
The very first thing we did was climb down a hole that was 40 meters long by abseiling..and you couldn't see anything because it was so dark! When you turned off your light it was completely dark and all you could see where the glowwarms glowing. It was pretty cool!! We did that for about 4 hours in total...the wetsuits were sssooo hard to get on and off lol I was very surprised any of us could move in them!!After that we just drove from Waitumo to Maketu and had a cultural night. We learned a couple dances and songs and then just played games all night. Then at the end of the night about 40 of us slept in one giant room haha it was really fun but you can't really describe it and make it sound as fun as it actually was!
The next morning we stopped in Rotorua for lunch and then visited more geothermic areas where the ground was literally bowling from how hot the mud was. It was crazy and smelt like rotten eggs!!! From Rotorua we went to Taupo. and in Taupo we went sskkyyddiivvinnnnggg!!!!!!!!!!!!!! :D :D We went from the highest point possible, 15,000 feet!! It was amazing!! I was the first one to jump out of the plane too. I absolutely loved it and didn't get nervous at all! The ride up there I was right next to do the door which was completely see through and it was the most relaxing thing I have ever done! I think it is because of how much I love heights that I just enjoyed the entire thing and didn't get nervous once!
I surprisingly only screamed twice on it! When we went out of the plane I screamed, I wasn't even necessarily scared just felt like a reasonable time to be screaming so my body naturally did it haha and then the second time I screamed was when the parachute opened because it pulled us back up really fast and surprised me!
I forgot to tell you what we did before skydiving! We went zorbing! Which is you literally get inside of a gaint ball that has some water in it and get pushed down a hill. It was created in New Zealand so I figured I had to do it while I was there.
The next day we went to Tongariro National Park bright and early, we left at 6:50 in the morning!!! We woke up after only getting 3 hours of sleep because we went out the night before. The hike was literally a 7 hours long and I only went for about an hour into it, turned around and walked very slowly by myself back which took 3 hours..so 4 hours in total. I REALLY regret not doing the entire thing but found out it was super hard, they literally hiked a mountain RANGE. I was to dehydrated for it so it was better that I turned back just wish I hadn't. OH and I have never seen lord of the rings but if you have this was a part of what we were hiking. Mount Doom or something like that
Then that night we just stayed in a really nice hostel and relaxed which was nice!!! The next day we went to Wellington (which was another place Lord of the rings was filmed..Hobbitown was filmed there but I didn't actually go and visit because we got there to late). So we spent the day in the wellington museum which had 6 floors of exhibits and was the nicest museum I had been to! After the museum we went back to the hostel and got ready. We all went out to the bar that night because it was our last night with everyone!! It was a really fun night! Sadly, the next morning we had a 13 hour drive back to Auckland and I spent the last two days in Auckland.
I didn't care to much for Auckland honestly. It was a big city, but just wasn't my favorite place out of the entire trip!
So there you have it my week in a nutshell. :)
Can't wait to talk to you all so we can talk about everything I missed in my nine days away! I love you all & will have pictures up on Picasa within the week!
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